Two Sides of Law
by 9witch2
Summary: RedRaeRob. Red X wants a criminal behind bars, but for different reasons than the Titans. He and Raven develope a liking for each other, but Robin and Raven are supposed to be together. Needless to say, the Boy Wonder notices. What will he do?
1. Seeming Fall

A/N: Hi, people! I just came up with a new story since _Arrow Struck_! It takes me a while to come up with these ideas. I wanna be an author someday, so everything's gotta be _perfect. _ANYWAYS, I hope you like it!

Oh, just for future reference, the main pairings:

BBxStar

RaeXRob/RedXRae

………………………………...

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter One_

_Seeming Fall_

_RAVEN_

Robin grunted at the force of his opponent's kick to his stomach. He staggered backwards and leaned against a wall as he struggled desperately to catch his breath. The Boy Wonder barely dodged a black-armored punch. He clutched his chest, desperate for the air he breathed to be less painful. He'd suffered several broken ribs from his enemy.

"How pathetic, Robin." the villain scoffed. "The experience with your dear Raven's daddy has made you rather weak. He landed a drop kick to Robin's shoulder which sent the teen to the ground. Robin held himself up with shaking arms.

"I am not weak, _Slade._" Robin snapped. Anger dripped threateningly from his hoarse voice.

"So that's why you were so _visibly _upset about Raven's disappearance?"

"We're friends. That's what friends do. They worry for each other." I could tell Robin was saying this more for himself than for Slade's sake.

"I daresay, Robin, you seemed quite happy with that embrace in the aftermath."

"Why wouldn't I be? She was safe. You don't have friends. You wouldn't understand." At Robin's remark, Slade launched another kick, landing it on the boy's back. Robin yelled in pain. It was rare for him to do so, even if it did hurt him. He never showed weakness. This led me to the horrifying fact that my leader was taking a serious beating.

I used a rail along the wall to heave myself up. I couldn't just sit there and do nothing. My leader needed me. I suppressed a groan. My knees almost gave out, but I only gripped the rail harder. I raised my hand and muttered my mantra.

_"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."_ Slade was surrounded in black energy and thrown through a brick wall on the other side of his hide-out. I paid him no mind. It would be a miracle (for him, anyway) to be conscious, much less alive after such a blow. I made my way over to Robin who hadn't seemed at all surprised by my actions. He looked up at me behind masked eyes, smiling slightly. I crouched beside him and healed what I could. Cuts were no longer visible and breaks were bruises.

"Thanks. Go help the others. I'll tie up Slade." He looked slightly surprised at what he'd just said. We'd never caught and jailed Slade before. I nodded in response and went to find the others.

Starfire and Beast Boy were in a tangled heap near the wall, off of which they'd bounced. Cyborg was in need of some assembly of his scattered limbs. After healing and putting them together, I led them over to Robin, who was digging through the rubble to find the villain.

"Friends, I do not understand." Starfire spoke in her usual soft voice. "The last thing I remember was dodging the bots of Slade." Her hands clasped themselves together. "Where is Slade?"

"You passed out, Starfire." I told her. "So did the others-that is, you, Cyborg and Beast Boy. Slade thought I was knocked out as well, but I wasn't. He was fighting Robin, but I threw him through the wall. He should be in here somewhere." I pointed to the wall's remains. Star let out a gasp.

"Dude." BB breathed.

"Yeah, Raven. Way to go!" Cyborg praised. The three of them looked at Robin, who had still said nothing. He was still trying to uncover Slade.

"Yo, Rob. Did you hear anything we just said? Aren't you going to compliment her?" the bionic man inquired. Robin looked up at us.

"He's probably dead." Robin said, as if it were a bad thing.

"That's good, isn't it?" BB replied. "I mean, he would have got the death sentence because of Terra…"

"No need to worry, Robin." a voice from behind us said. We all turned in shock to see Slade brushing dust from his armor. "I'll be here for a _long _time."

………………………………...

A/N: Sorry for such a short chappie, but, we can't all sit in front of the black hole that is the computer _all _day. Ya know… Thankies for reading, plz review.


	2. Friend or Foe?

A/N: Hi again. So, I'll cut the shit and give you the chappie.

………………………………...

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Two _

_Friend or Foe?_

_ROBIN_

I hated this guy. I mean, who the hell does he think he fucking is? Slade has been my worst enemy since I formed the Titans. He's a ruthless back-stabbing psychotic asshole. What really bugs me is the way he talks. He acts as if he's better than you. Better in every way, shape, and form. Like you're gum on the bottom of his shoe. He pulls and pulls at you until you come off or explode.

I'm the exploding gum. Every time we battle, he talks to me all the while. It drives me insane. It makes me want to kill him. He taunts me and gives me tips as if he were a mentor. It's positively infuriating. I guess that's why he does it. It's my weakness. My one and only weakness. I listen to everything people have to say. Especially him. I listen to him and afterward, I always mull over what he says. That's another mistake. He's trying to brainwash me in every way imaginable. I try not to listen, but my curiosity always gets the better of me. One side of me wants to believe he'll actually slip, and tell me something crucial to finding out who the hell he is. But he never did.

When Terra killed Slade, we never figured out who he was. It haunted me. A chemical reagent of him alone nearly killed me. I'd finally let it go. I had another arch enemy to worry about: Red X. But as fate would have it, Slade miraculously returned- on Rae's birthday. He had powers. Fire powers. And he had a symbol resembling and 's' on his masked forehead. The other titans and I didn't know it at the time, but Slade was doing the biding of an inter-dimensional demon. This demon was none other than Trigon the Terrible from Greek folklore. But more importantly, he was Rae's father.

Raven was destined to destroy the Earth and all who inhabit it. Well, as Slade had said, I got upset when she became the portal and disappeared. I'd never told her, but I'd always had some twisted form of attraction toward the girl. I started calling her Rae instead of Raven, and found myself constantly seeking her companionship. But I could never have a real relationship. Not as a super hero anyway.

Anyway, Slade came back, and somehow got his flesh and blood back. I've been trying to hunt him down ever since.

When we'd gotten a call, we rushed over as fast as we could. Slade had knocked the others out- all but Rae and me. He believed her unconscious, but he was ever so wrong. Rae saved me from Slade by enveloping him in her dark powers and sending him through the wall. Amazingly, he'd survived.

And he was standing right in front of us.

I wasted no time and attacked immediately while the others looked on in utter shock. I punched and kicked with all my might, but strength doesn't suffice if you are sloppy. Which, of course, I'd become. Adrenaline rushed throughout my body, and all I could think of was how much I hated Slade.

"Take time, dear boy." Slade's voice made my spine tingle. "You can't hit me if you don't aim."

"I can _aim _just fine." I snapped at him again. I couldn't help but let all of my hatred and anger drip into my retort. Satisfied, Slade continued to taunt me.

"I think your last round with your girlfriend left you a bit tired. Is Raven to fast for you?"

"SHUTUP!" I yelled, throwing a dead-on punch. He caught it and bent my wrist back. A crack filled the room. It was extremely painful, but I'd never let him know that.

"Don't want me talking about her, do you?" Slade pressed. I attacked, aiming better.

_Relax, Dick. He's taunting you for a reason. It's your weakness, and he knows it. Don't listen to him. Besides, it isn't true. You and Raven aren't together. _I thought.

The others looked on, unable to help. There was no opening for them to do so.

"No clever retort? I was looking forward to one."

"Retort THIS!" I shouted, whipping out my bo staff and whacking him over the balcony. He flipped in the air and landed rather gracefully. He stood and cracked his neck.

"Better, Robin." Slade's mechanical voice said. "I-"

Slade was interrupted by something falling from the ceiling on top of him. It was barely visible in the dark. Red streaked downward. Slade grunted on impact, but quickly got to his feet, already dodging a well formed chop. The two figures locked in combat instantly.

"Upset, I see." Slade said to the other masked figure.

"Quite." the other figure replied, skillfully evading a hurricane kick.

"You don't know when to quit, Red X."

My team and I looked on in surprise to the new visitor. Red X hadn't been seen in almost six months. We figured he was planning his next move. I figured we were wrong at that point.

"Titans, get 'em!" I ordered, and all of us launched into an attack.

Cyborg shot a beam from his arm, screaming "Boo-ya!" in the process. X dodged it just in time so Slade got the full blow. Star began a barrage of star bolts to Red X while Beast Boy attacked the other villain in tiger form. I jumped off of the balcony to land a drop kick on a surprised Red X. Star, knowing I'd never give her a clear shot to the cocky guy, flew off to aid with Slade.

"Stop, kid! I'm trying to-" Before X could finish his statement, I'd struck his side with a back swing of my staff. He staggered a bit, clutching his ribcage. He only evaded my attacks. He didn't block or even defend himself. Hell, he didn't even attack me!

"What's the matter, X? Afraid you'll get hurt?" I challenged. He caught my staff in mid-swing.

"Kid, you don't know when to stop! If you'd _listen _to me, you'd know I want that guy locked up just as bad as you do!"

………………………………...

A/N: Did X say he wanted Slade in prison? I know what you're thinking: WTF! Hope you liked the chappie! Sorry for the last one being so short and the fact that Red X wasn't in it, but the chap woulda been too long, I think. Anyways, toodles!

REVIEW:sweetly: puh-leeeeeeeeeze?


	3. Identity

A/N: OMG! There's nothing to do here! My house is so boring! So, in my boredom, I wrote chapter three…hope it doesn't suck…

………………………………...

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Three_

_Past Events_

_RED X_

The kid just stood there, dumbfounded. I rolled my eyes under the mask. Not that anyone could tell. This _Robin _kid was a real pain in the ass. He always attacks before he investigates. I swear, it's gonna be the death of him.

Oh, and slightly off topic: WHY THE HELL DID HE DECIDE TO CALL HIMSELF "ROBIN"! I mean, 'Robin' doesn't even sound threatening! He could at least call himself 'Hawk' or 'Eagle' or something! Okay, I'm done.

So the traffic light just stood there with a look of utter shock etched into his face. He was in a half-hearted horse stance with his knees barely bent. I could have easily broken his legs in the worst place right then and there. But I didn't. Maybe I should have. His staff was held weakly in his left hand, which slowly lowered with realization of my words.

"Why would you want him in prison?" He asked, pure curiosity showing. The kid really needed to learn how to do a monotone. Keeps people guessing. The Goth girl on the team-what was her name…Rae! That's it! Her name was Rae. That's what the traffic light called her in battle, anyway.

"I've got my reasons, kid." I said. The harshness of the voice modulator rang out.

"Tell me." Wow. So the kid did know how to use a monotone. Maybe Rae taught him.

"I don't really feel like it." I told him. I loved toying with this guy. He was so easy to mess with.

Suddenly, Slade came plummeting toward me off the balcony of the warehouse. As he got close, he extended a leg. Without missing a beat, I jumped back, nearly colliding with the Grass Stain. He jumped up in surprise and quickly morphed into a gorilla and took a shot at me. I ducked so he punched Slade instead. Cutie (A/N: it's Starfire. That's what X called her in the epi that he came back.) flew over us and started pummeling us with emerald lights from her hands and Grass Stain turned into a fly to get away.

Slade escaped the barrage with an assortment of gymnastics while I pressed a button on my stolen belt to teleport me to the other side of the room. When I got there, I noticed Rae leaning against the wall. She looked hurt. I didn't get it. She had healing powers, so why didn't she just heal herself. She was off to the side a bit, half hidden behind a couple of crates. As not to let Slade find her, I teleported.

When I arrived in front of her, she just stood there and gawked at me, letting a soft gasp escape her lips. Sheer terror shown in her eyes. _She could beat the shit out of me if she tried. What the hell is she so afraid of? _I pondered.

"What are you doing, Sunshine? We need your help." I said to her.

"I…I can't." Her voice wavered slightly. I gave her a skeptical look, although she couldn't tell.

"Heal yourself, genius." I told her.

"I can't." she repeated.

"Why not? You aren't afraid of Slade, are you?" She stared at me. Her familiar anger was returning to her gorgeous violet eyes.

"My powers don't allow me to heal myself unless I go to sleep." She snapped. "And if I go out there now, I'd be useless. I'd get in the way, and if Slade got away because of me, Robin would never let me live it down." She paused for a minute. "And what's with the 'We need your help' thing?"

"You're useful." I replied. It took me a minute to realize she meant 'Why are you helping us?' I chuckled softly to cover up for my mistake and made it seem like a joke. "I want that guy in jail just as bad as you guys do." My voice wavered for a moment, but, once again, I was saved by the magic that is a voice changer. That night was still vivid in my mind…

_Flashback_

_A brunette woman and a young boy sat at the dinner table in silence. They were slightly dressed up. The woman wore a black dress with her hair pulled back in an elegant bun. A few curls fell to the side, framing her tanned face. The boy was, to his displeasure, adorned in khaki pants and a black and red sweater. He had refused to wear shoes, so his navy socks tapped against the wood floor soundlessly. His mother, the brunette, had combed his messy, lengthening black hair so it was slightly presentable. _

_The boy twirled pasta around his fork with a saddened expression on his face. His pointed nose flared slightly, giving him a look of anger. He looked over to his mother who was swirling a glass of red wine in a crystal glass. He knitted his eyebrows and glared at the woman with his holding stare. She looked up to find two blue eyes fixated upon her._

_"When will he be here?" the boy questioned. _

_"He said he'd arrive by six-thirty, baby." _

_"It's already seven. And don't call me 'baby' anymore. I'm turning thirteen."_

_"But you'll always be my baby, right?" The woman touched his hand affectionately, but he pulled away with pointless force._

_"Is Jericho coming?" The boy asked. His mother completely ignored the rude thing that her son had just done and thought for a moment._

_"It's Tuesday, so I believe he'll be with his mother tonight."_

_"Great." the boy mumbled, downing the rest of his glass of sparkling apple cider._

_The door opened abruptly to a man in a brown trench coat and a bowler hat atop his graying hair. The brunette got up to help him get in the door, but he waved her away, muttering something. He closed the door to block the pouring rain from drenching the carpet at the entry way. He propped an umbrella on the wall and hung up his coat and hat. He slid his shoes off and placed them behind a chair near the door. He came into the dining room and sat down with a sigh of contentment. _

_"So how was work, Slade?" the woman began. _

_"Horrible. There are a couple of bozos who keep calling us back despite the fact they don't apply." Slade answered, dishing himself up some fettuccine alfredo and bread. "And three of my stocks dropped over three points today."_

_"Oh?"_

_"Yeah, well…Say, Collin, could you pass the wine?" Slade questioned. The boy began to pass the bottle to the man when the woman cut in._

_"I thought you were trying to quit." She pressed._

_"It's been a rough day. One glass couldn't hurt, Danni…"_

I was ripped from my thoughts by a black and orange streak headed towards Rae. I instantly pushed her aside, but I couldn't move fast enough. Slade kicked me hard in the ribs. A loud crack echoed throughout the warehouse. I staggered back to the wall and looked up to see Rae on the ground, looking at me with shock written all over her face. As I scanned the room, I got pretty much the same response from everyone else there save the madman himself.

"It seems I hit a weak point in your defenses." Slade said coolly. His tone bothered me. He sounded as if he believed he were better than you; like you were gum on the bottom of his shoe (A/N: See how Red X and Robin think alike? Sorry, had to point that out…).

"Perhaps your only weakness is the fear that innocent women will get hurt." Slade scoffed. He bent down to get in my face. "Isn't that right…Collin?" (A/N: Dum dum dum)

………………………………...

A/N: So there you have it! Thankies for reading this! I'll try to get the next chapter up, ASAP but there aren't any promises… :mumbles: stupid "responsibilities" get in the way with my obsession with fan fiction…


	4. Many Personalities

A/N: OMG! I keep getting reviews whenever I get online! Even if it's only one, it makes me so happy! Yay! So, everyone seems to be glad I update so fast…so, I'll give you guys what you want! Thankies!

………………………………...

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Four_

_Many Personalities_

_RAVEN_

I sat on the ground, staring at Red X. Since when did he help _us? _First he's this cocky pain in the ass jerk that doesn't care what we think about him being a thief, then he helps Robin save us from that Chang guy, then he's back to common thief, then he shows up out of no where and tries to _help _us with Slade. What the heck was wrong with him? Don't get me wrong, I was happy he'd saved me. That kick, in my condition…ugh, I don't want to think about it. But the fact that he'd saved me made me confused.

"Perhaps your only weakness is the fear that innocent women will get hurt." Slade said coldly to X. He knelt down until he was face to face with the white mask. "Isn't that right…Collin?"

Collin? Was that Red X's alias? Did the two know each other? I heard Starfire gasp off in the distance. I'm sure all of the others were staring, but I didn't look up. I wanted to hear everything they said.

"I believe it is." Red X replied in a monotone that could have stood up to mine. But what he said next was full of hatred that couldn't be shielded by the voice modulator in his mask. "I believe it is, _Wilson._" Several gasps escaped with that news. Red X sat there, staring at Slade. How could they know each other? "See, Rae might not be as important as my mother was to me, but I won't ever let someone be killed at your hands again. Especially when I'm there to stop it." Red X's breathing became raspy. Slade stood back. Even under the mask, I could tell he was smirking.

"If the girl isn't important to you, why do you call her a term of endearment?"

"What did I call her that was a term of endearment, jackass?" Red X shot back.

"Rae."

"That's her name."

"Try 'Raven' next time, boy." Slade scoffed.

Robin quietly made his way over to hide behind a crate, most likely to ambush Slade when given a chance.

"That's what Traffic Light calls her, so I did the same. I don't exactly know their names. I couldn't care less."

"Traffic Light…Clever…" Slade said mockingly.

"Yeah, I call him a lot of things: Traffic Light, Bird Boy, Birdie Wonder, Boy Blunder, Wonder Blunder, Chuckles, and lots of other things that I won't say due to innocent untainted ears." Red X supplied. I could tell he meant Starfire when he said 'innocent untainted ears'.

"Well, X," Slade spit out the word-letter, rather- 'X' with great disgust, as if it were poison. "I have enjoyed our little chat, but I have other things on my list." With that, Slade readied a punch and midway through, Robin caught Slade's arm from behind. Slade struggled in vain and eventually got flipped over into a wooden crate.

The others took after Slade. Starfire made him unsteady with a few star bolts while Cyborg armed his sonic cannon. Beast Boy then took a couple of slashes at him with his bear claws. Robin threw explosive and freezing disks. Slade struggled to keep his balance and fell after the green boy's attack.

Red X and I watched until the fight was taken to the basement. We sat quietly for a moment until X, with great effort, got to his feet and came over to me. To my surprise, he held out a hand to help me up. _Why is he helping us? Is this an act? _I pondered. Half-consciously, I took his hand. He heaved me up, and gripped his chest in agony. He groaned.

"The guy really knows how to kick." X half-joked. "When I'm better, he better watch his back." He paused and looked at me. "You alright, Rae?" _Rae? _I thought. _No one but Robin and Cyborg call me Rae…Who does this guy think he is? _I opened my mouth to retort, but didn't. I have no idea why. It could have been the way he said it. His tone was sort of soothing-even if it was mechanical. I wondered what he looked like. Was Collin his real name?

"I'm fine. Just bruises. And I got the wind knocked out of me." I finally said.

"Good. C'mon. We can- :groan: - watch the fight from the steps…" He turned, but I grabbed his wrist. There was no way I was wasting time getting answers.

"I want answers." I told him.

"Alright." He hobbled over and sat on a crate. "Shoot, Sunshine." I could tell he purposely put his cocky cover on for my questioning.

"First," I said, sitting down, "Who are you." He looked at me and for some strange reason, I felt like looking away. I didn't. I only blinked.

"Collin." He said simply. "Not like I'll tell you my last name."

"Hair and eye color." I said. I didn't need his last name. If I had his hair and eye color, I could find quite a few matches in the city. He snorted.

"What? Looking for a boyfriend with a certain look about him? Did I pass the personality test, babe?" I suppressed a shudder at the idea of being with Red X. That would be really gross. But a tingle shot up my spine. It sort of felt nice for someone to talk to me like that. By calling me 'babe' and 'sunshine' and stuff, even if it was only a joke. I pushed those disturbing thoughts to the back of my head and focused on the task at hand.

"Answer the question."

"Hair's dark. I'll give you that. And I haven't got the most common eye color."

"How do you know Slade?" I inquired.

"He was going to be my step-dad." Red X answered. "Look, can we go through this when your little friends get back?" I sighed.

"Whatever." I replied. X got up to go watch the raging fight in the basement. He'd only made it two yards away when he fell.

"Fuck!" He muttered. He held his ribcage, breathing hard. I sat next to him and sat him up. He groaned again, trying to push me away. "Stop. Touching it makes it worse." I pushed his hands to the side and rested both of mine on his chest. I couldn't help but think about how muscular he was. "What are you-" He was cut off when blue light radiated from my hands. I could feel him tense up in fear, but he didn't move away. I healed him so his ribs were only bruised instead of broken.

I sat back, waiting for a reaction. All of a sudden, I felt dizzy. I pressed my temples to try to re-orient myself, but to no avail.

"Thanks, Rae. Hey, are you alright?" I heard him ask. I had used up to much power. I started to fall. Strong arms caught me, which I assumed were Red X's. "Raven! Holy hell! What's happening? No…Please don't be dying…" His voice faded. _Why does he sound worried? _I thought, passing out.

………………………………...

"Is she alright?" I heard Star ask. I sat bolt upright, noticing no pain in my ribs. I'd probably healed myself while I was knocked out. I looked around to see my friends sitting around me, along with Red X. Starfire and Robin were on either side of me while Beast Boy and Cyborg sat on crates. Red X sat some distance away from everyone on the floor, Indian style.

"Friend Raven!" Starfire squealed in delight of my awakening. She made to hug me, but Robin blocked her arms. "Friend Robin, why do you keep me from doing the hugging to our dear Friend Raven?"

"She's probably still sore from fighting, Starfire. If you hug her, it will hurt her." Robin was patient. Too patient sometimes. I can't stand when Star's having her 'I do not understand' days. Today just happened to be one of them. A few hours ago, she'd gotten confused by the meaning of the words 'dude' and 'ass' and 'manatee'. Well, at least I thought that all happened a few hours ago.

"How long have I been out?" I asked them.

"Two hours." Cyborg answered, looking at his watch. For an awkward moment, everyone was silent. BB broke it with an impulsive burp. He burst out laughing, but instantly stopped when Robin and Cyborg gave him a death glare. He mumbled an apology and let his pointed ears fall back.

"What happened to you?" Red X questioned suddenly. Everyone turned to the masked boy/man (whatever he was). I could feel his gaze on me, so I looked away.

"I used the last of my powers up." I said. My voice was much softer and less harsh than usual.

"I'm sorry." X said. Everyone gawked at him like he was crazier than he really was.

"Okay, I definitely missed something." Cyborg cut in.

"Raven healed me with the last of her power." X replied. Everyone's gaze found the white skull-masked boy. They were speechless. An apology from Red X was really out of character. Then their gazes shifted toward me. I summoned every bit of will power I had to answer in a monotone.

"What?"

"You healed Red X?" Robin sounded appalled. Anger seeped into his expression.

"He's still sitting here! He didn't leave! Attack him and send him to jail if you're so hell-bent on it!" I spat. The harshness of my voice surprised me. I had more control over my emotions since Trigon disappeared, but I still needed to keep my emotions remotely in check.

Robin, as if realizing what I'd said was true, that Red X was still there, launched a kick at him. X dodged it with ease.

"Lighten up, Chuckles. Like I've said before, I'm not such a bad guy once you get to know me a little. And I've proven it by saving your girlfriend over there." The way Red X could switch personalities so fast was amazing. It almost made me wonder if he was acting.

"What's with you guys and thinking _we're _together?" Robin roared, bringing another kick around to his face. X jumped back into the air and saluted.

"Catch ya later." X said and he disappeared.

………………………………...

A/N: Okey dokey, people. How'd I do? Please review! - Oh! FYI: Slade killed X's mom. Just thought you'd want to know…


	5. Tearing Me Up

A/N: Hi (again)! I'm really loving writing this fic. I'm obsessed. I gotta type it before I forget it!

Disclaimer: It's obvious I don't own the Teen Titans. If I did, I'd be in la-la land, writing epies all day long….And the show wouldn't be canceled….and Rae and Rob or Rae and X would be together...

………………………………...

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Five_

_Tearing Me Up_

_ROBIN_

We got back to the tower within twenty minutes after X escaped. If he was still injured, we could have turned him over to the police. But Rae healed him so he could think fast and not be overtaken by any of us, especially with that belt. Why did she have these slips in our most important battles? Why'd she have to let him get away? As soon as we got inside, I intended to bombard her with questions about what happened. I decided I'd beat around the bush a little bit before I asked her why she healed him. That way, she'll feel so awkward, she'll have to tell me.

I felt a twinge of guilt inside me for conjuring a plan for my sole purposes only. It seemed like I'd be using her. Or worse. Accusing her. She didn't need me to flip out on her just to notice her mistake. Raven was a smart girl. She could figure it out herself…Or could she?

"Ah, it's so good to be home." Cyborg said, inhaling deeply and moving towards the kitchen, presumably to cook yet again. BB immersed himself in a mindless video game in an instant while Starfire sat idle on the couch. Rae made her way out of the room, most likely headed to her dark sanctuary. The only time I'd ever been in Rae's room was for a dare, which she didn't know about. She'd been sleeping inside, and genius Beast Boy proposed the dare. I nearly jumped out of my skin when she mumbled and turned over in her sleep.

I conspicuously slipped out of the room and down the hall to follow her. I jogged silently up behind her and lay a hand on her shoulder. She nearly punched me, but I evaded it at the last second.

"Angry?" I teased.

"Sorry." She muttered and turned. "Impulse."

"Hey, Rae. Wait up!" I hurried to walk next to her. "Wanna talk about what happened?" She stopped at her door and turned to face me. She let out a huff of annoyance.

"No. And I already know what you're going to say and do." She said. I raised a challenging brow. "You're going to beat around the bush about Red X and why I healed him, and I'm going to ask why you're beating around the bush. Then you'll flip out on me saying how it's my fault X got away and I'll feel guilty and you'll go on hating me until I apologize for something I didn't even do!" Rae fumed. "So save your precious breath and leave me alone!" She entered the code to her door and began to slam the door. I stuck my foot in to stop it. It didn't hurt as bad as it should have because of my steel-toed boots.

"Rae, that's not what I would do!" I challenged. I sighed. "Can we just talk?" I got a muffled "no" for a response. I then realized her voice was too far away to be at the door, so I pushed it open to see her lying face down on her bed. Oh my god. Did I do the impossible? Did I make Rae, the master of emotions, the keeper of darkness, the princess of seriousness cry? I shut the door behind me and came and sat next to her on the bed.

"Go away." was the next muffled statement I heard.

"Rae, I'm sorry." I laid a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. I noticed she'd taken off her cloak. I also happened to notice her curves. Her toned back. Her butt. The way her leotard hugged her body. How the bottom of her leotard was cut, framing her hourglass figure…I felt like rubbing her back, stroking her hair, holding her close. I wanted her to be mine… I wanted her to like me back. _Whoa, Dick! _I thought. _Where'd that come from? You don't like Rae. _

"Don't touch me." She shrugged my hand from her shoulder. I put it back.

"I'm sorry." I repeated. I wanted to say something more- something more meaningful, but I was at a loss for words.

"I don't care." She replied.

"Fine." I said, standing up. If she didn't want to talk about it, then she didn't want to talk about it. I left her room without another word and headed for the gym. I really needed a punching bag right now.

………………………………...

By the time I dragged myself into bed, it was eleven thirty pm. I'd spent the time after the little mishap with Red X in the gym training. There was no way either of those guys would get away next time. I'd gone downstairs to get a glass of water and something to snack on to find everyone had gone to bed and left the common room a mess. I had to wash all the dishes in the sink just to get to the faucet! I'd made it to my room an hour and a half later after playing maid to the other titans. They really had to learn to clean up after themselves.

I stripped down to my boxers and fell onto my bed, not bothering to cover myself. I bet I was asleep before I hit the pillow.

_Dream Sequence_

_A violet-eyed girl stood in the doorway of an unknown room. She had a pair of black shorts and a purple sports bra under a silk lilac robe. Her arms were crossed, hair unbrushed. Her beautiful pale face was glistening and stained with tears. She stood in the doorway of the bedroom until someone acknowledged her presence. _

_"Rae?" A groggy voice said from the full sized bed. "What happened?" It was a boy- a young man speaking to her. _

_"They don't need me. They never needed me. I was just a distraction." _

_"Come here; it's okay." The blue-eyed boy soothed her as best he could. Rae made her way over to the bed and stood there for a moment before climbing in. "He's just upset. He'll get over it." The boy cuddled Raven close but she didn't push him away. _

_"I'm so confused." The girl cried into the boy's bare chest. "What am I supposed to do, Collin?"_

I woke with a start and sat up quickly. What the hell was that? I thought of how gorgeous Rae looked in her pajamas. Whoever she climbed into bed with was one lucky asshole. _Focus, dip-shit. _I told myself. I knew the girl was Raven; her hair is unmistakable. But who was the guy? Rae had said someone didn't need her and they never did. Who didn't need Rae? Well, the Titans needed her…Did she think we didn't? Who was upset? And what had Rae called the boy?

It all clicked. Rae thought the Titans didn't need her, and somehow, she found out where this Collin guy was. Collin told her that I, Robin, was upset and that I'd get over something. Collin… Collin was Red X. But what did my dream mean? Did I just have a vision? Did my connection to Rae allow me to have visions?

All I knew was one thing: If this happened, Red X would have hell to pay for laying a finger on my Rae. _My Rae? What's happening to you? _I asked myself. _You love her and you know it. _Another part of me said. But I knew that could never happen…Holy hell, if that was a vision, it could be happening right now! I threw on some flannel pants and ran silently down the hall to Rae's room.

………………………………...

A/N: So how'd you like it? Like Robin's internal conflict problem? Anyhow, please review.


	6. Goddess and Lesser

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Six_

_Goddess and Lesser_

_RED X_

Okay, it's official. I'm nuts. Totally and completely nuts. Why'd I act like that? Why did I try to help that witch and be 'nice' to the Titans? I didn't have to be. Not like I needed help catching Slade. Hell, if I took him in to the cops and they ended up arresting me, too, I didn't care. I'd give anything to get that bastard to jail after what he did to my poor mother…

_Flashback (continued from chapter three)_

_"Slade, you'll regret it." Danni warned._

_"Grow up." Slade said._

_The boy sat there, quietly, not knowing the consequences of what he'd just done. _

_Four hours later…_

_Lightning flashed and thunder boomed. Slade sat on the couch with another bottle of opened wine. This was at least his fourth bottle. Danni sat there trying to persuade him to stop while the boy sat in his pajamas on the floor playing a handheld game. _

_"Slade, please stop. Collin doesn't need to see this…"_

_"Shut up. I don't need to listen to you." Slade hissed. "You're a bitch. You never let me do anything because of the kids. It's always Collin this and Jericho that. I hate kids." He took a swig from the bottle as Collin looked up. He was acting completely normal. This wasn't anything new. Slade used to drink worse than this. "And, you know what else, Danni?"_

_Danni said nothing. She sat in silence, crying, until Slade continued. "You're horrible in bed." Danni looked up to see her son's shocked expression. _

_"Collin, I'm sorry…" she muttered._

_"Aw, shut up. Let the boy listen. You learn things by listening. Come here, boy." _

_"No." Collin said. "I don't want to be anywhere near you. You're a drunken jerk and you're disgusting. I don't have to put up with my mother's mistakes."_

_"Come _here._" Slade insisted. Collin shook his head. "Damn it, kid. Grow up." _

_Collin barely saw what happened next. Slade picked up the corkscrew he'd been using for the wine and was advancing on him. His mother gripped his hand in at effort to stop him. With a scream, Slade drove the corkscrew into Danni's neck. Slade stopped and dropped it. He mumbled something about "bitchy kid-lovers". Collin, realizing what he'd done, tackled Slade and started pummeling him with punches._

_"YOU BASTARD! YOU FUCKING HURT MY MOM!" He screamed. Slade threw the boy off and stood up._

_"She deserved it, kid." He grabbed his coat and slipped on his shoes to leave. Collin sat over his mother, crying. She tried to speak, but the corkscrew stopped her. By the time the boy called the paramedics and they arrived, his mother was dead._

I felt hot tears in my eyes from the memory, but I didn't let them come. I didn't cry. I wasn't a helpless little kid anymore. I was eighteen, and more than capable in controlling the way I felt.

But the woman was important to me. I tried to remember the last thing I'd said to her. I couldn't remember what exactly it was, but it was something hateful. I'd been really moody that night because she and Slade had broken the news to me at dinner that they'd be getting married. I wished I could take it back. I'd never see her again. She wouldn't be there at my wedding (if I even _had _a wedding) or to see her grandchildren (once again, _if _) . She was gone and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

My eyes burned more and a lump grew in my throat. I didn't want to cry.

So, I returned my thoughts to the question I'd asked myself: Why was I so nice to them? Rae could have died, that's why. Twice. That kick from Slade would've caused extreme internal bleeding and broken ribs. She could've died when she used all of her power to heal me, according to Boy Blunder. Why did she even heal me? If she hadn't, I would have been sitting in jail at this very minute. But she slipped up. _Well, _I thought _now we're even. _

I walked through my apartment, thinking. I had a small apartment with an eat-in kitchen, a living room, a bathroom/laundry room, and a bathroom. It was on the edge of Jump City and a neighboring city.

I couldn't help but think of how stunning that purple-eyed goddess was. She was gorgeous-in a dark way. Her skin shone like the moon in the sky and she had curves that could kill. I wondered if she used contacts to make her eyes that color or if they were a side-effect of her powers. _What the hell is wrong with you, Sanders? _I mentally slapped myself. _She's the enemy. Even if she liked you back, it could never work, and you know it. _I paused in my head, thinking about what I'd just admitted to myself. _No. You don't like her. You can't. _

I took off the Red X suit and hung it in the closet. I was asleep before I hit the pillow. I was far away in dream land that night with my goddess, Rae.

………………………………...

I woke up to the sound of chirping birds. I sat up, wishing they'd find another person to mock. I threw the covers aside and made my way to the kitchen with a growling stomach.

As I got into the small room, the phone rang.

"Sanders. 'Sup?" I answered groggily.

"Hi, Collin." A girl's voice came through cheerfully on the other end. It was Caitlin, my girlfriend. Well, she seems to be. We never really made it official, but we'd kissed and gone on outings alone together that could constitute as dates. I liked the girl, but she wasn't really my type. I romanced her anyway. Any love, even if it's fake, means a lot to me right now.

"Hey, babe." I replied coolly. She giggled.

"So, I called to tell you Zack said to get your ass over here." she told me.

"Crap! I slept late again!" I ran into my bedroom and dug out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Zack was my boss. I was an actor in plays at the theater on the other side of the city.

"Yeah, but you've got a little bit. He's running through tryouts for the leads last." She replied.

"Okay, thanks a ton, Kate. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, Collin." She said. I hung up and got dressed in record time. I grabbed my car keys and made a mad dash for my car. If I hurried, I'd have time to grab a doughnut from the place next to the theater.

My car's a wreck, as far as I'm concerned. I've got tons of scripts lying in the back seat. Some of them are dated two years back. I have crumbs galore all over the place since I eat and run so much. The heat is broken and the radio only comes in on FM. It's a slightly dented blue ford, and it's in pretty sorry shape. But until Slade was locked away, I'd have to deal with it.

As I turned onto the street, I called Caitlin back.

"You've got ten minutes." She told me automatically. I'd been late a lot while working there for the past two years, and Katie and I had my late morning routine down pat since she arrived almost a year ago.

When I finally got up to the stage and wolfed down my doughnut that would've made Cyber-boy look slow, I found Caitlin peering around the curtains, watching auditions. I caught her from behind and kissed her tenderly on the neck. She nearly squealed, but realized who I was. She turned around and pushed me against the wall.

"Took you long enough." she joked. She brushed a strand of shiny brown hair behind her ear. She had on a teal polo and pleated denim skirt that gave her the look of a school girl.

"Yeah, well, this weirdo chick called me to tell me to get myself over here fast, and I got distracted by how sexy her voice sounded." I told her. She stood on tiptoe and kissed me, wrapping her hands around my neck. I had to admit, this girl was ambitious. We were suddenly interrupted by a fake cough a few yards away.

I turned to see Chris, another guy who works there standing there with papers in his hands.

"Kate, you're up." he said shyly.

"Oh. Alright. Thanks." She said, taking the papers and giving me a kiss on the cheek. "See you later."

"Knock 'em dead." I told her. She waved and exited onto the stage.

I felt a slight empty feeling inside. What was going on? Why didn't that kiss take my breath away and make my heart flutter? _Oh, leave it alone. _I thought. _You don't like her that way and you know it. _

………………………………...

A/N: So, how's this chapter? I think it was sorta boring, but I don't want to turn this into a total action plot. Plus, I want to get a little of my version of Red X's life in there, too. Oh, and in case you didn't catch it, X is Collin Sanders. Okay, I gotta go! Bye, readers!


	7. Feelings Revealed

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Seven_

_Feelings Revealed_

_RAVEN_

I woke up to the unpleasant sound of knocking, near pounding on my door. I sighed and slipped out of bed, righting my purple satin nightgown. I plodded over to the door and was about to open it when I heard Robin's voice on the other side.

"Rae? Rae, if you're there, open up!"

I yanked open the door to see Boy Wonder standing there with his hair tousled and the brim of his red boxers poking out of the top of his navy flannel pants. He was topless and I couldn't help but admire his washboard abs. I ripped myself away from my thoughts and focused on what was going on.

"Why are you pounding on my door at three in the morning, Boy Blunder?" I hissed, pulling him inside. He stumbled slightly as I practically threw him against the wall and turned to close the door. I turned back to see him gawking at me. I glared at him. He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Um…It's a long story. I don't-" Robin began. I pushed him from behind and steered him from his bare shoulders until we arrived at my bed. I pushed him so he sat down. He looked shocked. I blushed, realizing what he'd thought I was doing. I recovered quickly and sat down in the middle of my mattress, being sure I didn't flash Robin a thing.

"I have all night. Spill." I said. He gave me a look as if embarrassed and looked away. I narrowed my eyes. Why was he acting so strange? When neither of us spoke for a moment or two, I spoke up. "Robin, what's going on?" My voice sounded fragile. He snapped back around, obviously surprised at my tone. Honestly, so was I. Lately, I'd found it hard to keep from relaying a bit of my emotion into what I was saying.

"Rae, I don't…I don't think you'll like what I have to say."

"Tell me."

"Rae…"

"Talk!"

"Fine! So, I had this dream." He began. I nodded. "And you were in it and so was…so was Red X." He paused for my reaction. He recoiled a bit, thinking I'd lash out. I sat silent. "And…I just thought it was a vision or something. I got worried." I stared in awe of what Robin had just admitted to me. He had actually said he was worried.

"What happened?" I questioned.

"I don't want to-"

"If it was a vision, I need to know what happened."

"So it's possible for me to have a vision because of our connection?" he asked.

"Maybe. According to- forget it. We're getting off topic. So what happened?"

"Uh…Okay. Maybe it wasn't a vision, but it was weird. I can't control my dreams, so don't kill me, okay?" He continued once I nodded in consent. "You were with Red X. I mean, in his house. At least, I thought it was his house. But you were crying and you got in bed with him-"

"What!" I choked.

"You two were-"

"I heard!"

"Only cuddling!" Robin reassured me. I let out a sigh of relief. I looked at him to see him smiling. "I was stupid. It could never happen."

"Yeah…" I trailed off. I tried to look at anything but him. I stared at the carpet, the walls, and finally (shudders) my nails. I still felt his piercing gaze upon me. I tried to ignore it, but then-

He pushed his lips against my own. He put a hand on my upper arm and the other on my waist. I felt him smile when I, against my better judgment, kissed him back. I felt his hot breath on my face as he exhaled through his nose. He looked into my eyes and smiled even more. I found myself acting robotic. My arms draped themselves around his neck as I stood on my knees. Robin did the same. He let his hands move downward and he pulled me closer. He let go of me with one hand and moved something behind me with it. His hand came back to me and he deepened the kiss. It felt amazing.

I felt lightheaded. But when my back hit the bed, the lightheaded feeling was gone. Robin was on top of me. I was in a skimpy nightgown and he was topless. I knew where this was headed. The boy on top of me barely seemed conscious of the position we were in. He kept kissing me. It was then that I felt something rather hard against my inner thigh. I gasped and broke the kiss. This was too much.

"What?" he asked innocently. H sat up, but still straddled me.

"Robin!" I said, propping myself on my elbows. "You know just "what" I'm talking about! You were on top of me!"

"Rae, it wasn't exactly a mistake." Robin told me. I was in shock. Who was this guy and what did he do with Robin?

"Listen. I'm fine with kissing and all right now, but I don't want to go further. I'm just not emotionally ready for that." I told him flatly. He got off me and pulled me into a hug. I rested my head on his chest.

"Sorry. I got a little carried away. But, just out of curiosity, why don't you think you can do something like that without making something explode?"

"It's not fear of making something explode." I said softly. "It's my mother." He gave me a skeptical look. "I was an accident, Robin. My mother didn't want me. She was raped." I looked away from him. I expected him to try and convince me, but he didn't.

"I understand." He said.

………………………………...

Days in Titan's Tower were always the same. Cyborg and Beast Boy would argue over breakfast, Starfire would try to be mediator, Robin would lecture them about getting along, and I'd bypass them all for my tea. Cyborg and Beast Boy would sit and play video games for hours on end. Star would "journey to the mall of shopping" or do her hair or paint her nails. Robin would disappear to do goodness knows what and I'd lock myself in my room to read or meditate. When problems in the city arose, we'd go and take care of it.

But since Robin and I got together, things have been a little different. Neither of us locks ourselves away. We hang out with everyone all day, and occasionally slip out to the roof for some alone time.

I followed the halls to a heavily guarded door. I turned the knob on the door and pushed it open. I was drenched in pink-orange light. I looked across the roof to see my boyfriend (it's so weird to say that) sitting on the roof's edge, starring out at the horizon. I let the door shut heavily and went to join him.

"Hi, Rae." Robin smiled.

"Hi."

"Can you believe Control Freak tried that 'Titans Challenge' thing?" the masked boy asked. He was referring to the battle that had taken place earlier that day.

"That was pathetic. He couldn't even beat Beast Boy or wear me out so that I couldn't use my powers." I laughed.

"That force field for Starfire was nothing. She's ripped the floor up in the infirmary."

"You should have heard her the whole time." I rolled my eyes. "I thought she'd explode from the adrenaline rush."

"What, jealous?" Robin mocked, pulling me into a hug.

"Not any more." I said, kissing him. We pulled away abruptly when we noticed we had company.

"How sweet. I had a hunch you two were together." Red X mocked, walking from the shadows.

………………………………...

A/N: So there's chapter seven! Since I've been updating every day (people in back round screaming "Quit bragging!"), I've sorta run out of things to say…other than…REVIEW…they make me happy…Oh! One more thing! Robin and Raven might not be together for long…Red X might stir things up…just something to think about…


	8. Disappear

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Eight_

_Disappear _

_ROBIN_

I watched Red X enter from the shadows, interrupting my kiss with Rae. I wanted to pound the living hell out of him. This guy had really good timing to piss you off. I jumped up and stood in a battle ready stance. This bastard was not getting away. I know what you're thinking. I'm still ticked at Rae for healing him. I'm not. It's just that I rarely got to have any alone time with her. Between having three other roommates that could walk in on you and crime fighting, we didn't have much time for one another. I mean, it's not like we can scratch eating off our list or anything.

"Relax, kid. I'm here on other business. But once I'm done, I have an opening to kick your ass…say…maybe next Friday at four?" X joked. His laughter slid through the air like a hot knife through soft butter. Raven readied her powers to attack on my command.

"What business, X?" I questioned, curious. I didn't realize I was letting him use my weakness.

"Slade." X replied seriously. He paused and turned to face Rae, whose hands were glowing black with power. "Hey, relax, babe. I'm not gonna-" Before Red X could finish his sentence, Rae had shot beams from her palms that hit him heavily in the stomach, sending him backward. She hovered over to where he sat, propped up by one elbow. She knelt down and picked him up by the collar. He seemed surprised, and choked at her grip.

"_NEVER _call me that if you ever wish to see the light of day again." Rae monotoned. She flung X to the ground where he rubbed his neck and gasped for air. I was nearly as surprised as Red X at Rae's actions. She never told someone not to call her anything. She would just make their life a living hell as subtly as she could. This was definitely not subtle.

Red X muttered something I couldn't hear from my position. This earned a glare from her, but she didn't attack him again. She crossed her arms, and I found them both looking at me.

"What?" I asked.

"So do you want to talk to him, or put his sorry ass in jail?" Rae spat. I cringed at the tone of her voice.

"Listen, Robin." Red X stood up. I was shocked that he had called me by my name (what most said my name was, anyway). I quickly regained composure and shut my hanging jaw. "I know where Slade is."

"Where?" I asked automatically.

"First, I need you to promise to help me take him down if I tell you his location." Red X replied.

"Why would I help you?"

"Do you want Slade locked up, or what?"

"Why do you?" I shot back. I could tell the guy was glaring at me, even through the mask.

"Get the rest of your little friends up here, and then I'll talk. I don't want to have to explain myself four times." Red X proposed his offer with crossed arms. He was trying to block me out, and it worked. I decided this was worth a shot. After all, if things got hairy, Rae could always teleport us home. I reached for my communicator, but then remembered I had left it in my room. It was another effort to keep distractions out of the way while I hung out with my girlfriend (wow, I love the sound of that).

"Rae, do you have your communicator?" I asked her, holding out a hand. She reached down to where the device was supposed to be clipped onto her belt, but looked up, shaking her head.

"I must've forgotten it in my room."

"Okay. One of us has to go get them, but I don't trust Red X." I told her, not removing my masked eyes from the other masked figure. "Will you be alright if I go?"

"I'll be fine, Robin." Rae reassured me.

"Isn't that cute." Red X commented. Raven gave him a rather rude gesture as I made my way for the doors. I set a fast pace down the many hallways and took the elevator to the first floor and made my way into the living room. I found Beast Boy playing a video game.

"Beast Boy, where are the others?" I asked, stepping between him and the screen.

"Dude!" The elf exclaimed, trying to peer around me.

"It's an emergency!" I said heatedly. His green eyes met mine as he asked what was going on. "Doesn't matter. Get to the roof. I'll get on the intercom to get the others." I ran over to the computer system. I was starting to get worried. _What's wrong with you? _I thought. _You left Rae all alone with Red X! How stupid are you? What if something happens to her? _I tried to push the thoughts out of my head as a green falcon flew down the hall.

"TITANS, GET TO THE ROOF, NOW!" I ordered. I turned and ran full tilt to the elevator. The doors closed and reopened two floors above. Starfire and Cyborg got on. They both had puzzled looks on their faces, but I didn't provide explanations.

_C'mon. Can't this elevator go any faster? Relax, Dick. Rae's not a little kid. She can take care of herself. _The doors opened again and I dashed out.

"Friend Robin, is this trip to the roof very urgent?" Starfire asked. I hated when that girl always asked the obvious.

"It's urgent, alrigh-" I was cut off by something I'll never forget. A scream. A piercing, scared scream. It would make your blood run cold. Raven's. "RAVEN!" I sprinted down the hall, pushing past Beast Boy, who had only now reached the top floor in the form of a falcon. I grabbed the knob on the door leading to the roof and wrenched it open. I heard the others running behind me, finally half-understanding what was going on.

I scanned the rooftop. Both Red X and Raven were nowhere to be found. I ran around the edges of the roof, thinking they might have fallen. No luck. I sunk to my knees, mentally slapping myself repeatedly. How could I be so incredibly stupid? I left Rae alone with a dangerous criminal! My Rae. My girlfriend. My teammate. What happened to her? Did Red X have her?

"Yo, Rob." Cyborg said from the center of the roof. I turned my head to see him standing with a half-shredded piece of flowing indigo cloth in his hand. I immediately recognized the cloth as Rae's cloak. I rushed over to where the others had gathered and examined it. It looked as though X had only grabbed for her and got a fistful of the fabric instead. The tears were not that of the X's in the suit.

"This was under it." Cyborg held up a piece of paper with writing across it. I snatched it from him without a word. I read it and reread it.

_Chuckles,_

_Kid, I knew you weren't going to allow me to go free and let me help with Slade if I'd told you where he was. So I made a plan. Thanks for following it so well, by the way. I'll make you a deal, oh fearless leader._ _ I have your dear girlfriend with me. I'll give her back to you, safe and sound once Slade is out of the way. If you don't cooperate, I won't mind that much. I'll end up in jail, Slade will be captured, and precious Rae-Rae will starve in peace wherever I happen to leave her. _

_Think this over, Blunder Wonder. I'll be in touch._

_X_

_P.S. She didn't leave her communicator in her room. Let's just say I 'borrowed' it._

"Friend Robin, why does Red X have Friend Raven?" Star asked over my shoulder. I jumped slightly, realizing the rest of the team was reading the note over my shoulder. BB stood there, awestruck. Cyborg glared at me.

"What happened?" He demanded angrily.

"Red X offered help with Slade…one of us needed to get you guys, but neither of us had our communicators. Red X had swiped Rae's…She said she'd be okay, so I…I went to get you three…I never-" I began. Cyborg's single brow furrowed in anger. He lifted me up by the collar and pointed at me.

"You're an ass! You put work before your friends and now Raven's in danger! What the hell is wrong with you?" He yelled. I choked out a response.

"We need to- ack - find her…now! Please, put me- down!" Cyborg dropped me to the ground where I rubbed my neck in pain, just as Red X had done moments before.

"Why does everyone think you two are together?" BB asked, meaning the question to be rhetorical.

"Because we are." I said bitterly.

………………………………...

A/N: So how'd I do? Like the story so far? Do you think Red X really knows where Slade is? Thankies for reading! BYE!


	9. More Feelings

A/N: Hi, readers! Sitting in a dark room reading fanfics all day, are we? Anyway, I hope you like this chappie! Thankies for the reviews! Oh, and sorry for all the cliffies at the end of chapters; it's just the way I write!

………………………………...

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Nine _

_More Feelings_

_RED X _

I sat on my bed next to a sleeping Raven. When I had kidnapped her, she'd hit her head and got knocked out. I took her back to my place and taken good care of the dark goddess like I'd told Blunder Wonder I would. Normally kidnappers would want to hurt their stolen person, but this was different. I had lied. I had no idea where Slade was. I wasn't going to keep Rae safe for her precious boyfriend. I was keeping her safe because I wanted her to be safe. I didn't care what Robin thought.

For some unknown reason, I thought I should tell the girl what was going on. I mean, really tell her. The whole story. My mother and Slade. Slade's old drinking problem. My thirteen year old life. That Night. I wanted to tell her everything. I couldn't understand why I wanted to. I believed it something stupid to do. Open up to your enemy, I mean. But she couldn't be a real enemy if she had healed me.

I had hung the Red X suit in a closet. Well, it wasn't really a closet. It was a secret closet cut behind a closet. Clothes concealed the makeshift door. It was stupid to take off the suit with Rae there, but I thought I should. My intuition must have a malfunction going on today. Instead, I sat in a baggy pair of faded jeans and a tight red t-shirt.

I had been sitting there for over an hour, pondering my actions while the girl slept. Finally, at seven thirty four, she stirred. I held my breath, wondering if she'd lash out at me. Suddenly, she sat bolt upright, eyes wide. She instantly spotted me and recoiled. Rae scooted toward the headboard to make more space between us. To my shock, sheer terror shown in her violet eyes. I lifted a hand to reach out and touch her face to console her. I didn't think of it at the time, but that could have scared her even more. I stroked her cheek gently. At the first touch, she tensed.

"It's okay, Rae." I assured her.

"Leave me alone." Raven said rather weakly. She pushed my hand away and stood up, backing toward the door. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to me. I felt a sharp sting against my bare face when she smacked me as hard as she could. "Let me go!" The girl cried.

"Listen to me." I said to her, standing up. I took both of her hands in mine. She stood, transfixed. I looked straight at her, smiling. "It's okay."

"No. Leave me alone!" She tried to pull away from my strong grasp, but I held fast. I wasn't going to let her get away. She brought her knee up towards what would have been a painful spot. I blocked it with my own knee. The fact that she wasn't using her powers surprised me. Perhaps she was so scared she couldn't use them.

"Listen to me!" I raised my voice.

"No! Let go! Leave me alone!"

"Rae, shut up!" I returned. I was loosing my patients fast.

"Get off me!" she yelled. She attempted to pull away yet again, and failed.

"Stop!" I told her.

"No! I'm not going to let you do this to me!" Her eyes filled with terrified tears.

"LISTEN!" I said, louder than I had planned on. I shook her slightly, pushing her towards the bed to sit her down.

"NO! GET OFF ME! LET ME GO! STOP!" Raven screamed, trying to free herself from my grasp. I pushed her down, hard. I landed on top of the screaming girl unintentionally, I swear. "No! Please…" She trailed off in sobs. She still tried to push me away. I stared at her.

"Raven, listen to me."

"Please don't do this. Please…Please, stop. I don't want this!" Raven continued sobbing, making several objects blew up around the room.

"Raven, stop. I just want to tell you what's going on. It's stupid, really…We're supposed to be enemies. But, I want to finish telling you the answer to one of your questions. I want to tell you why I want Slade put away." Raven's tense muscles loosened themselves. She stared at me in disbelief. After a minute, a slight blush fell over her cheeks. She swallowed, looking away. I stared at her, trying to decipher what she had thought-

"Oh!" I said, standing up. I rubbed the back of my neck. "I'm sorry, Raven. I didn't know…I thought you just wanted to get away from me…I…Did you think I was going to rape you?" I asked, just to be sure. Raven sat up and backed to the headboards again. She brought her knees to her chest and nodded ever so slightly.

"My mother…My mother was raped….I'm just…scared…" She trailed off. Her gaze avoided me. She was terrified of me. I felt a twinge of guilt shoot through me.

"Raven, I'm sorry. For everything. Insulting you, kidnapping you…and about your mother." I added. My voice was almost as shaky as Raven's.

"I wouldn't have been born." She told me. Her voice seemed slightly stronger.

"Well, even though it's still mean to your mother, I'm not sorry, then." I smiled, hoping she'd look at me, hoping she'd forgive me.

"Why did you bring me here?" Raven finally looked at me, but I wished she hadn't. Her scared eyes and terrified expression made me feel worse, if possible. I looked away. I didn't know the answer to her question. What was I supposed to say? "Oh, I just wanted Birdie Wonder to back off you." or "I wanted to tell you how I felt about you." or "I just saw your sexy body and wanted you to stay in my house for a while."?

"Please tell me." She said. I sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. I put my head in my hands. I really needed a therapist right then.

"Raven, I don't know." I said, completely serious. I heard her shift on the bed behind me.

"Tell me whatever you're thinking." She said. I found her sitting beside me. Her hands were folded in her lap, and her eyes read concerned.

"I think I'm a fucking idiot." I told her.

"What else?"

"I need a therapist and the men in the white suits to come and take me away."

"What about me?" Raven asked. I down at her in surprise. That question caught me off guard.

"What about you?" I said. I tried to keep my cool.

"I don't know." She looked at the carpet.

"I think…" I began. Her head snapped back up. "You're gorgeous." The princess before me sat awestruck. Her jaw dropped a bit in shock. "Drop-dead gorgeous. You're eyes are the most mesmerizing color of violet I've ever seen." Raven opened her mouth to speak, but I put a finger to her lips. "I might sound like I'm trying to convince you, but I mean it, Rae. You're gorgeous." I smiled and kissed her forehead. I held her there for a moment, but she pushed me away.

"I have a boyfriend. Like I care what you think." Raven said bitterly.

"Then why are you still here, hon?" I asked her jokingly. She scowled, surrounded herself in dark energy, and disappeared.

I lay back in bed, smiling from ear to ear. Sure, I'd been turned down, but kissing her (even if it was only on the forehead) confirmed it. I, Red X, Collin Sanders, am in love with a girl who is supposed to be my enemy. I am in love with Raven.

………………………………...

A/N: So how'd you like the chappie? Plz review! Thankies!


	10. Old Woes Unleashed

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Ten_

_Old Woes Unleashed_

_RAVEN_

I arrived in the living room seconds later. I looked around and saw nobody was there. I figured they were out looking for me. I went over to the computer to call them all back to the tower. They were probably worried; especially Robin. I pressed a red button on the keyboard and the huge screen told me it was calling everyone's communicator. The screen had four panels, each with one of my friend's faces on it.

"Hello?"

"'Sup."

"Hi!"

"Robin here."

I watched everyone's expressions turn from serious to positively giddy in a second flat.

"Friend Raven!"

"You're alright!"

"Dude!"

"Rae! What happened? I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left you up there. Did he-" I cut Robin off before he turned purple from lack of oxygen. I saw Beast Boy roll his eyes at Robin's reaction.

"Come home and I'll tell you what happened." I told them. The weakness still clung to my voice, which I could tell in an instant would make Robin more suspicious. I hung up before I was bombarded with more questions.

I went to the kitchen to boil some water for my tea. I needed something to calm my nerves. I still sounded scared. I was ashamed of myself for it. How could I possibly forget I had powers? What if X did rape me and I didn't think to use them? How could I be so stupid? _You were scared. No one can think clearly when they're scared. _I reassured myself. _Can they? _After all, I wasn't an expert on fear. I couldn't feel emotions in fear I'd cause damage to anything around me. I was terrified I'd one day harm a friend or an innocent bystander.

I sat at the counter, head on my hands, waiting for my water to boil and my friends to come home. I hoped they'd come quickly. I hated to admit it, but I really needed a hug.

Until Robin came along, I didn't know what a hug felt like. Not really, anyway. When Starfire hugged me, it was out of happiness. She didn't have the ability to console. And back when I had a crush on BB, I had hugged him. It was right after Malchior or Rorek (whatever the hell his real name was) tricked me. But Beast Boy didn't hug me back. Shortly after that, I began feeling things for the Boy Wonder. My leader. My best friend.

They say the best relationships start out as friends first. But how was I supposed to know? I had only had a few relationships before I got my powers, and then, I was a little girl. If you considered fourteen to be little, anyway. Even if Robin did like me _that way_, did I want to risk my friendship with him if we broke up? I tried to push my feelings for Robin aside, hoping it was just a phase. But I couldn't. I hid away in my room more than usual, and tried avoiding Robin in particular. To be honest, I'm surprised Cyborg didn't notice.

Then my father came along. The man I hated. The man who was going to make me do something I didn't want to do. He was going to make me take over the world and destroy everything I held dear. I tried to hide it from my friends, but then Slade came back on my birthday. The day it began. When I told Robin I was supposed to do something horrible, he didn't pry. He comforted me as best he could.

Then, after The End, I hugged him. I hugged him despite the fact he was dating Starfire at the time. To my pleasant surprise, he hugged me back. And that's when I went crazy. I fell head over heels for the guy.

He and Starfire broke up weeks later. Star, apparently, couldn't forget what happened after The End. Cyborg, Beast Boy and I had been sitting on the couch, exchanging glances. You could hear their argument from the floor below, they were screaming so loud.

_Flashback_

_"Why are you breaking up with me?" Robin yelled through Star's door._

_"Because I am not blind, Robin! I have the eyes which allow me to see what is doing the going on right before me!" _

_"Star, I don't understand!" _

_"Do not do the playing of the dumb!" Star shrieked. Sobs echoed through the tower._

_"I'm not playing dumb! I don't understand! Tell me what's going on, baby!" _

_"Do not call me that term of endearment!"_

_"Fine! Now what's going on?" Robin snapped._

_"You are not capable of "the loving"!"_

_"What? Star, you know I love you."_

_"Then why do you not show it? You have not told this to me! You do not do the hugging to me, and you do not kiss me! You do not love me! You are in love with someone else, I am knowing it!" Star screamed. A door was wrenched open, making her already deafening cries louder. _

_"Why would I want to be with you if I don't love you?" _

_"You do not love me! You are in love with someone else!"_

_"Who then, Star?" Robin barked. His anger was clear. "Who the fuck am I in love with?"_

_"FRIEND RAVEN!" Star yelled. The tower grew quiet for a moment. The two boys looked at the dark girl on the couch with shock in their eyes, as if it were true. The dark girl scowled at them before more angered yells tore through the atmosphere._

_"Grow up, Starfire! Raven's only a friend; don't drag her into this! If you aren't happy with me, you don't need a crummy excuse like that to break up with me!"_

_"It is not the excuse! It is the truth! I have seen with my own eyes the way you hugged her! You were doing the smiling and you made no effort to ever do the hugging to me in such a way!" _

_"I was smiling because I was happy, smart one! I was happy she was alright! I hugged her back to make her feel better, and you know it! I've hugged you better than that a million times! And if you're jealous, I could say the same thing to you! You always hug the other guys! Does that mean I should have dumped you?" Robin yelled. A loud, sharp noise followed as Star slapped the boy in front of her in disgust._

_"I was merely doing the hug in a friendly manner!" _

_"What the hell, Star! I-"_

_"You are a Zorb Morker! Do not lie to me! I no longer wish to do the dating of you!"_

And that was how their relationship had ended. The tower remained eerily quiet for the rest of the day, and neither Star nor Robin exited their rooms until the next morning. I wondered if that was their first true fight…

My thoughts were interrupted when the front doors opened, revealing Beast Boy and Cyborg. They rushed in, racing to hug me. Beast Boy won, and nearly crushed my ribcage. The elf is much stronger than he looks.

"Dude! What happened? We were all freaking out. I-"

"B, the girl needs air." Cyborg said simply. Beast Boy smiled and pulled away. I took in precious breaths, only to have them squeezed out of me by the bionic man.

"Aw, Rae! I thought "Man, if that bastard so much as lays a fucking hand on my little sister, I'm gonna punch him so hard, his ancestors feel it!" But you're okay, right? Did he-" Cyborg was cut off by a red, yellow, and green streak.

"RAVEN!" Robin yelled. He wrapped his arms around me, causing Cyborg to jump back in fear of being hit. "Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have left you there alone with him! I know he likes you, and it was a stupid thing to do. He could have killed you or hurt you or even…holy hell! Did he rape you?" Robin pulled back and held me at arm's length, looking worried. The other two looked on with looks of worry as well.

"No. I'm okay." I said. Only then did I realize I was crying. I laughed and Robin pulled me close again. He rocked back and forth a little.

"I swear, if that ass laid a hand on my girlfriend…" He growled. My heart skipped a beat. He had called me his girlfriend in front of the others! I wasn't ashamed or anything, but that was a bad way for them to find out.

"Group _Awwwwww._" Beast Boy joked. Cyborg smacked him on the back of the head.

"Leave 'em alone, B." It was then that I realized everyone already knew we were together. I wondered how they found out, but I pushed the thought aside.

"So what happened, Rae?"Robin asked, leading me to the couch by the hand. The others followed. As we sat down, I noticed Starfire had come in. She sat down opposite me on the U-shaped couch with folded arms.

"Um…" I paused, looking at Robin. How could I tell him X had told me he loved me? "He said he only wanted to tell me why he wanted Slade put away…" Robin nodded, urging me to continue. "I had woken up in his bed, and-"

"You said he didn't try to rape you!" Robin exclaimed.

"He didn't." I answered quickly. "But I…I thought he was going to…I backed away from him, but he pulled me back. I thought he was, but he only…" I looked around at the others who had varying levels of shock and anger etched into their faces. All of them did. Except Star. She just watched me.

"Only what, Rae?" Robin asked softly, holding my hand.

"Only…only kissed me." Robin's eyes grew wide. He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "It was only on the forehead." Robin shut his mouth, waiting for me to continue once again. "And…he just…told me he…loves me. It's-"

"That asshole!" Robin burst. "He's definitely gonna pay."

………………………………...

As I was going up to bed, I felt strong hands grab me wrists. I opened my mouth to scream, but a hand covered it. I thought it was Red X again. _No. Please, not again. _I thought. I found myself face to face with Starfire. She stood there without a look of happiness on her face. I thought this was rather strange. It wasn't normal for her not to be bubbly and giddy, but then again, she hadn't been since I came back. What was bothering her, anyway?

"Star?" I inquired. Starfire took no notice to my question.

"You have been doing the going out with Robin?" She asked, eyes sharp and hating instead of sparkling and inviting.

"Uh, yeah." I responded, wondering where she had been the past few hours.

"I was right. He does feel the loving for you." She said coldly. "Listen, Raven." I couldn't help but notice the "friend" part before Raven was missing. "He is a Corbort Plixing Zorb Morker. He does not do the show of affection. He is grumpy and rude. You will not like doing the dating of him." I felt a surge of hate in my stomach. Was she trying to get me to dump Robin so she could have another chance with him.

"Still jealous?" I snapped. Once again, she ignored my comment.

"When he does not show the love for you any longer, I will be glad. You are a Corbort for taking him from me." Star continued. "He will grow bored of you and dump you without warning. When he does, I will laugh. You are not worthy of his attention. You are a demon and you should not be here at all. I do not see why you do not go home." The way the girl talked to me sent shivers up my spine. Who did she think she was, anyway?

"So you deserve to stay here instead of Tamaran?" I mocked.

"At least I fit in." And with a flip of her long red hair, Starfire turned on her heel and walked away. I couldn't help but think she was right.

………………………………...

A/N: So how's this chappie? Hope you liked it! Toodles, and thankies for reading!


	11. Anger and Guilt

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. You know how you can tell? Starfire hasn't been thrown off a bridge yet.

………………………………...

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Eleven_

_Anger and Guilt_

_ROBIN_

I sat on my bed, staring at the white ceiling above me. Light had flooded the room, despite my closed curtains. There were chirping birds outside, and I heard the waves from the bay crash onto the shore of the island. It was seven o'clock in the morning. By this time, I was usually up, but I didn't feel like doing anything at the moment. I was too busy mulling over what a certain someone had said last night.

That certain someone had insulted my Rae. Starfire wasn't normally bitchy, but if Rae and I showed any form of public affection, someone had hell to pay. Neither of the girls knew it, but I'd heard every word of their conversation the night before. I couldn't bring myself to believe Star wasn't over me yet. And to think, she was the one who broke up with me! Why'd she want me back? And why'd she suddenly flip the switch from happy to bitchy?

_"At least I fit in." _Starfire's words rang out in my head. Who did she think she was, talking to Rae like that? Since when did Star think Rae didn't belong? _Since she found out you and Rae were together, dumb ass. _I told myself. It was true.

I finally forced myself to get up. I threw on my uniform and headed downstairs. I mentally prepared myself for shouting in the living room. It was around this time that Cyborg and Beast Boy were always fighting over what was for breakfast. Every morning, it was the same thing. Waffles! Tofu! Waffles! Tofu! Cyborg would finally stop calling Beast Boy a "grass stain" and "Martian" and finally put him in a headlock. Rae would go around them, trying to make her tea, and I'd be doing the same, making my own breakfast. Star would sit at the counter, trying to calm everyone down.

But when I entered the living room, I found no one there. I shrugged it off, thanking what goodness was left in the world that there was no screaming. I made my way over to the refrigerator to find something to eat. I shifted through the molding stuff to the potatoes, cheese, bacon, and eggs. Just as I finished chopping the potatoes, the doors opened, revealing my goddess.

Rae looked tired. More so than usual, I mean. Her hair was tousled and she was still in her pajamas. They were all black with a skin tight tank top and shorts. She wordlessly made her way over to the stove, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Morning, sleeping beauty." I teased, pulling her into a hug. She hugged me half-heartedly and fixed a kettle of water on a burner.

"Morning." she mumbled.

"Rough night?" I asked, returning to the food on the counter. I saw her nod out of the corner of my eye as she leaned against the counter. "Nightmares?"

"No. Just couldn't sleep."

"Feel free to bug me in the middle of the night if it happens again. I'm almost always awake." I told her, winking. She rolled her eyes.

"Like that'll happen any time soon." She drawled.

"So it will happen?"

"If you're lucky." Rae said, getting a tea bag from a cupboard.

"Want breakfast?" I inquired. I put a greased pan on a free burner and began scrambling some eggs.

"Sure."

No sooner did she sit at the bar did the doors spring open again. Starfire burst forth, arms wide and welcoming. She flew over to where I was and flung her arms around me in an embrace.

"Good morning, Friend Robin!" she exclaimed. The force of her hug made me drop the bowl full of eggs, but Rae caught it with her powers, saving me from a sticky mess.

"Morning." I said, turning back to cooking. Starfire seemed to take no notice to Rae as she too sat at the bar. She rested her head on her hands and spun on the swivel barstool. She hummed a cheerful tune for a moment before continuing the conversation.

"Where are the others, Friend Robin?" Star asked sweetly. At this point, I knew she was purposely ignoring Rae. I turned to her in disgust. There was no way she was going to do that to Rae.

"Look beside you." I said bitterly. She looked beside her and acted surprised. She waved.

"Good morning, Raven!" Star beamed. I couldn't help but notice she had dropped the "friend" part. It appeared the dark girl took a great deal of will power to mutter something of acknowledgement. She looked away, attempting to suppress a scowl. I could tell Rae wasn't going to forgive her naïve alien friend anytime soon. Wait, let me re-phrase that. I could tell Rae was never going to forgive her bitchy alien ex-friend. I opened my mouth to say something rude to the redhead, but never got the chance. As if on cue, the doors opened a third time.

"Dude, we had waffles yesterday!" BB whined to Cyborg.

"Yeah, well it's only fair we do waffles again because there are more waffle-eaters than tofu-eaters, ya little grass stain." Cyborg shot back. BB narrowed his eyes in anger.

"Good morning, friends!" Starfire called. No one other than me saw Raven slip out of the room then, not bothering with her tea.

………………………………...

Later that night, the alarm sounder, yanking all of us from our quiet evening. We all gathered at the computer to see what was going on. The others sat quiet for a minute, waiting for me to bark out orders. I was speechless. I blinking black "S" and a red "X" sat on the screen, marking our enemies' positions. My eyes narrowed. Had X really known where Slade was?

"Titans, get to pier forty-one!" I suddenly snapped back to life and dashed to the garage for my motorcycle. The others ran and flew after me. Cyborg followed me to the garage for the T-car and the girls flew off, accompanied by a certain green pterodactyl. I hopped on my bike and threw on my helmet, activating the communicator inside it. I revved the engine and took off before the bionic man even opened his door.

"Titans! Don't wait for anyone! Get there as fast as you can!" I told them.

"As you wish." Starfire responded. I heard a screech in the background from Beast Boy.

"Kay, Rob." Cyborg answered.

"Alright." I heard Raven's dark energy engulf her. I assumed she was turning into her soul self or teleporting.

When I arrived, I found not mass chaos, but a rather small fight. I looked along the walls to find Beast Boy and Starfire in a tangled heap. They'd been knocked out. Cyborg got stuck in traffic (what are the chances?) so he'd be quite a while. And there, in the center of the warehouse was Raven. She was fighting Slade, needless to say. But what really surprised me was the fact that she wasn't using her powers. She took on Slade blow for blow, and was doing rather well with it.

But where was Red X? I looked around the room, half-expecting him to be sitting along the walls, doing nothing to aid us. Slade's speaking broke me from my search.

"Hello, Robin." He blocked a punch from Rae without looking. "Nice of you to join us." He landed a kick to Raven, sending her backwards before turning back to me. "Have to save your girlfriend, don't you?" he mocked, walking towards me.

"Where's Red X?" I said hotly. I stood in a battle ready stance. I wasn't going to attack, but I wanted to be ready to defend myself.

"Isn't one of us enough for one day? As I recall, you couldn't catch Collin, either." Slade stopped walking and paused. "Come out, Collin. You're little friend just let it slip that you were here." Red X materialized in front of Slade, hitting him with a front kick. Slade only stepped back, not surprised by the other masked villain's actions. In seconds, the two were locked in combat, both of them ignoring everything and everyone around them.

I saw my once in a life time chance. I launched an aerial kick to an unsuspecting Red X, who flew a few feet to the right. He finally came to a stop when his back met wooden crates with a crash. I evaded one of Slade's punches and whipped out my Bo staff. He did the same. Downward slash, blocked. Upward slash, evaded. Side, hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. I staggered backwards, trying to regain my breath. One hit was bad, but three? _Pull it together, Richard! _I shouted to myself, dodging another strike.

"So I heard you were upset about something." Slade mentioned.

"Yeah, I might be."

"Perhaps it was because Collin kissed your dear Raven?" He said coolly. I stopped dead. How did Slade know about that? Did he have surveillance cameras in the tower again? Seeing his chance, Slade bombarded me with painful slashes and bone-cracking kicks. I fell to the floor with several re-broken ribs.

"You're becoming sloppy, Robin. I-" Slade's speech was cut short by a purple streak coming out of no where. He was knocked to the ground by Raven. He rolled to dodge a relentless axe kick and leaped up to get on the offensive. I sat there watching, still heaving from my broken ribs. Suddenly, I felt strong arms pull me up carefully by the wrists. I whipped around to come face to face with X. I stumbled from pain, but he caught me.

"Chill, kid. I gotcha." He led me over to a bunch of crates and sat me down on one. I noticed he'd moved Starfire and Beast Boy there as well.

"Why…are…you…helping…us." I choked. "And…why…did…you…kiss…my…girlfriend?" X chuckled.

"I want the guy put away. After this, ask Raven. She knows. And I kissed her, birdbrain, because I love her." I felt anger bubble in my stomach. Not only had X said he loved Raven, but he also said Raven knew his secret.

"How…does…she-" I was cut off.

"She _knows_ because I told her."

"Why…would-" I was interrupted again.

"I'm stupid. Does that satisfy you? Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go help Chick out there." X said, turning and running off. I grabbed a bird-a-rang from my belt and threw it just right to make him trip.

"Her…name…is…Raven." I huffed bitterly. X got up without a word and went to help.

The next thing I knew, I was awoken by a slight shake. I opened my eyes to see Cyborg standing before me, worry shining in his eyes. I tried to sit up, but the numbness of my cracked ribcage disagreed with me. I groaned, falling back. I saw Starfire and Beast Boy sitting on either side of me. Raven stood off in the back. I saw tears running down her face. Her leotard was ripped and her cloak gone. Her arms were crossed over her chest.

"Rae…what…happened?" I struggled to speak. She wiped tears from her face with the back of her hand and shook her head. She stepped forward and healed me. As soon as she was done, she stepped back into her position. I could tell she was trying to block me out. I gave her a skeptical look. Cyborg crouched down.

"She's just had a rough fight is all." He offered.

"Play by play." I said simply. Cyborg sighed as the others shifted uncomfortably.

"So, from what I can tell, X moved you three in here so you wouldn't get hurt." He glanced around at BB, Star, and I. "Raven couldn't use her powers. Something happened, but she won't tell us. When I got here, X and Rae were doing' a pretty good job with Slade. They make a good team. Anyway, Slade got away, and I turned on X. Before I got to him, he saluted in his stupid cocky way and thanked Raven for not turning him in. I-" I cut Cyborg off.

"Turning him in?" I looked around at Rae. "What the hell?" She looked away, more tears falling down her cheeks. "Damn it Rae! You saw his face, didn't you? You know who he is, and you didn't tell us!" I stood up and pointed a finger at her. I walked over and grabbed her roughly by the shoulders. "Tell me!" I shouted, giving her a jolt. She just kept looking away, a hand over her mouth.

"Why couldn't you use your powers?" I spat. "What the fuck went wrong?"

"I…Robin, I-"

"You like him back, don't you? You fucking like him back!" Rage swept through me, coursing through every vein in my body. She let him get away. Again. "How could you do this to me?"

"Robin, I-"

"Forget it! I don't wanna know!"

"Rob! Cool it! Let her tell you what happened!" Cyborg cut in. I glared at him, not letting go of Raven.

"I don't need this." I said, letting go of Raven with a slight shake. I turned to leave. I heard Raven slide down the wall, sobbing.

"Robin, come back!" She called after me. "Please, Robin! I don't…I don't like him that way…Robin!" I ignored her pathetic calls and got on my motorcycle without another word. I raced through the streets.

I couldn't believe it. Raven knew who he was, and didn't do anything about it. The guy could have been put away by now, and this stupid fight wouldn't have been so challenging. We could have put Slade away! Why was she doing this? Why was she being so damn difficult? Did she like X back? Sure I'd said she did, but did I really mean it? Or were her powers not working for another reason?

As I turned onto Fifth Street, I began to have second thoughts on what I'd said to Rae. Why had I been so mean to her? I wanted Slade and Red X in prison, but was it worth hurting my girlfriend over? It wasn't her fault if they got away, was it? I slowed down as guilt replaced the anger within me. I made a sharp U-turn and headed back to the pier. I had to apologize.

Then a horrible thought finally crept from the corner of my mind. My dream. My vision.

_"They don't need me. They never needed me. I was just a distraction._"

Rae's words echoed through my head, making me feel even worse. I had to get there before it was too late.

"Titans!"

………………………………...

A/N: there it is! Chapter eleven! So how'd I do this time? Thankies to my readers and reviewers! Plz review! Toodles!


	12. Roommate

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Twelve_

_Roommate_

_RED X_

I sat in the shadows, watching the scene before me unfold. Robin had just gone off on Rae, shouting at her and accusing her. It took all my will power not to go over there and beat the living hell out of him. He'd shaken her, leaving her crying and broken-hearted. I pitied the girl; she deserved so much better than that bastard. I couldn't say I'd be any better, but at least I wouldn't yell at her like that. He'd treated Rae like a little girl! This guy has a knack for multiple personalities. _Like me. _I couldn't help but think.

After Robin stalked off, the others recommended getting home. Rae shook her head, saying she needed some time to herself and to go without her. The others reluctantly left. As she did, I noticed a smirk on the Ditz's face. _WTF? _I thought. Why was she so happy? I waited for a moment, until Rae's little friends had gone. The dark witch's stifled sobs echoed through the rafters, sending another wave of pity down my spine.

I stood and walked over to her as quietly as possible. She still had no idea I was still at the pier. I crouched behind her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me, startled at first. Her violet eyes read it, but almost instantly changed back to tearing. Rae looked down, pulling her knees closer to her chest. I assumed she was still afraid of me due to our little misunderstanding.

"What do you want?" She asked bitterly, voice quavering from her sobs.

"Just wanna make sure you're alright." I said truthfully. I lifted my mask from my face to eliminate the sound of the harsh voice modulator built into it.

"Sure." She said harshly. "I'm just peachy." The girl loosened the grip on her knees and laughed bitterly in spite of herself. "I just love being roughed up by guys."

"Nice hobby." I teased, sitting beside her with my elbows on my knees.

"Oh yeah."

"So what are you going to do about it?" I questioned. She looked up at me. I wanted to look away. Her stare bored into me. It felt like she could see into my soul. But I couldn't leave it. "Are you gonna try to work it out or break up?" She closed her eyes and sighed.

"I don't know. I mean, every time we get in a battle with you or Slade, he always blames me for your escapes." It seemed like she was going to say something more, but didn't.

"Sometimes you just need a break from everything." I said, leaning my sweaty head against the wall. I ran my fingers through my tousled hair.

"Yeah…I do." She admitted. She shifted, turning her legs to the side. "Collin?"

"Yeah?" I ignored the fact that she'd used my real name.

"Why'd you tell me that the other day?" My stomach did a flip at her sudden question. I knew what she was talking about. She was asking why I'd told her she was gorgeous. I was caught off guard. I felt her gaze return to me, but I didn't return it to her. I couldn't talk to her about something like this when I was looking at her. I felt…_embarrassed. _

"Because it's true." I nearly whispered, but she still picked it up. Then, the girl did the last thing I would have expected her to do. She hugged me. She rested her head of purple hair on my chest and closed her eyes. I sat there in shock for a moment before I hugged her back. So we sat there like this for what seemed like forever. We sat there like lovebirds you'd see in those mushy romance flicks that make girls cry (Kate made me watch it, don't have a cow).

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Kate. What was I doing? I mean, I didn't love Kate like this, but I still considered her a friend. I didn't want to break her heart like-

"Collin?"

"Yes, Rae?" I said sweetly, almost musically. She pulled back and looked at me, tears finally gone.

"Can…Can I stay with you for…a day or two? Just to get away from the team for awhile? I mean, you can say no…" She looked slightly embarrassed by her words, and in seconds, a pretty pink tint appeared on her moonlit cheeks. What was I supposed to do? How could I say no with her looking at me like that? I answered against all of my better judgment.

"Sure, Chick." I replied, standing up.

"Chick?" She gave me a skeptical look and she took the hand I offered her.

"My nickname for you, if you don't mind." I pulled her up and held her around the waist. "Hold on." I pressed a button on the belt and in seconds, we materialized in my dark living room. I let go of Raven to find the light switch.

"Collin?" Rae said. "Where'd you-" She was interrupted mid-sentence by the lights coming on.

She tripped on a box near the wall at that moment, and before I could catch us, we were both on the ground. My head thumped against the thin carpet and I winced. I stared at her for a moment, taking the whole situation in. Her eyes were wide. I felt her light weight on top of me, her hands on my chest. My hands were dangerously close to her butt, and our noses barely touching. Her lips looked positively inviting. I wanted to kiss her then and there and never stop. I restrained myself, and after a moment, Rae hopped up and offered a hand up, muttering an apology.

"It's alright. No injuries." I commented. We just looked at each other for a minute before I showed her around. "Place is pretty small. I really need to clean, but I've been working a lot…"

"This is spotless compared to the tower." Rae commented. I smiled.

"Yeah, I guess it's bound to get filthy with Mold Monkey walking around." I joked. I was referring to- gosh. What was his name?

"Yeah. Beast Boy leaves everything he touches a wreck, a mess, or dead. Unfortunately, that doesn't include his pet larva."

"He has a pet larva?" So Raven proceeded to tell me about another enemy of theirs: Killer Moth. She mentioned his spoiled daughter wanting to date Robin, Starfire nearly exploding from jealousy, and Beast Boy smuggling Silkie the larva into the tower.

We talked for a while. We just chatted about anything and everything, but we eventually got into talking about our childhoods. I gave her the full Slade story, and she told me of her father, Trigon.

"So you're dad's an inter-dimensional demon who tried to destroy the Earth?" I asked disbelievingly. She nodded.

"That's how Slade came back to life."

"Wow. I just thought he was laying low for a while." Raven shook her head, yawning. "Wanna get to bed?" I questioned. She nodded. I got up and went to the bedroom with her following. I pulled down a few of Kate's clothes from the closet for her. "These were my girlfriend's, but I think they'll fit you. You two are pretty close in size."

"Thanks. The leotard was really starting to bug me." She motioned to a tear in the stomach. She took the pajamas and lilac robe with a smile.

I went and sat in the living room while Raven took a shower. I flicked on the news. Nothing better to watch. A reporter appeared on-screen.

"And we're live at Titan's Tower," My heart skipped a beat. "where Robin, the team's leader has called the _police _for help. Why is this, you might ask? Well we're just as curious as you are. Why would Robin, the top crime enforcer, need the police's help?" The reporter turned to Robin, who was standing next to his team on the shore of Titans Tower.

"Robin, would you tell us what is going on?"

"It's one of our team members. Raven. She went missing a few hours ago." Traffic Light told the camera. "We need help finding her since the tracking device on her communicator has been jammed. If you've seen her, please contact the Jump City Police Department."

"Do you think one of your enemies could have kidnapped her?" the woman asked Cyborg.

"Yeah. She was kidnapped the other day by this one guy…but she got away. I'm really worried. Her powers weren't working tonight, so she'll be easier to keep hold of."

"Who took her the first time?"

"This dude named Red X." Mold Monkey chimed in. "His real name is Collin something."

"Could he have tried a second time?" The woman turned back to Robin.

"Possibly. We were fighting our two worst enemies, so it's almost impossible to tell. Neither of them ever leaves a lead." Robin answered matter-of-factly.

"Do you think she might have just needed to get away for a while?"

"Yeah, dude! She was all-" Beast Boy got cut off by another question from the media.

"Was she angry with anyone?"

"Yeah!" Elf Boy nearly shouted. "Her and Robin went at it at the end of a battle!"

"I see. Miss Starfire, do you have any comments?" The reporter asked. Starfire pulled a job of fake crying and sobbing. She was faking it. Surprisingly, she was a pretty good actress. She finally gripped the sides of the camera.

"Raven, if you are watching the vision of the telly, please return to your home!" Ditz cried. The camera fell to the ground when she released it, and a crack formed on the screen. The Mold Monkey knelt down to the camera, waving.

"Hi, mom!" he yelled. The picture fuzzed out and left the crew at the station sitting there, speechless. I snorted. That green kid was so immature. The crew sat there for a moment. A man shuffled some papers, clearing his throat. The woman was brave enough to continue.

"So if you have any information about Raven of the Teen Titans, contact the Jump City Police at 615-8973."

"And today in sports…" The man began. I turned off the TV before I could hear anything more.

I sat there, quiet. Why did the ditzy redhead hate Raven? Did Raven purposely jam her tracking device? Did she want the others to find her? And who on earth was unfortunate enough to give birth to Beast Boy?

………………………………...

A/N: Hi, peoples! So how's this chappie? Plz review. Thankies:P

Oh, and sorry for the delay in updating! My computer had a brain-melt...


	13. Sundaes and Decisions

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Thirteen_

_Sundaes and Decisions_

_RAVEN_

I dried myself from my shower quickly, putting on the clothes Red X had given me. The shorts were black- thank goodness they weren't girly- and the top was white. Immediately, I could tell the tiny tank top wouldn't have a chance of fitting me. I pondered what to do for a moment. I mean, I was wearing a sports bra…girls wore them all the time in gyms. The way Red X- _Collin _was built, I'd bet he'd seen lots of women wearing them, so it wouldn't freak him out…

I decided to leave the shirt alone and tie the robe around me. I slid my socks back on and exited the bathroom. As I did, I heard a voice in the living room. That voice was unmistakable. Beast Boy's. Holy. Fuck. Had they found Red X so quickly? I thought I had jammed my communicator!

"Hi, mom!" Beast Boy shrieked. I let a small sigh of relief escape my lips. It was only the television. Wait. Why was BB on TV? There was a small beeping noise and a short silence. Suddenly, a woman spoke. I presumed Beast Boy ambushed the camera man and broke it in the process. _Leave it to BB… _I thought.

"So if you have any information about Raven of the Teen Titans, contact the Jump City Police at 615-8973." _The news. _I thought.

"And today in sports-" the man was cut off when Collin turned off the infernal device with a snort. To alert him I was coming, and not to make him believe I was eavesdropping, I opened and closed the bathroom door, sniffing. I went down the hallway with my clothes and towel in hand.

Collin looked up when I entered. He sat on his navy futon with his arms draped across the back. His black hair was ruffled and spiked. His blue eyes sparkled, making my emotions run wild in my head. This was really the first time I'd gotten a good look at him. I couldn't help but admire him; he was charming, in a way…

His smile pried me away from my thoughts.

"What do you want me to do with my towel?" I questioned.

"Oh. You can drape it over the curtain rod for now. There's a closet in the hall, if you want to put your uniform in there." He commented.

I went and hung the towel, standing on tiptoe to do so (A/N: that rhymes! Sorry…had to say that…). I put my leotard in the trash can. It wasn't worth saving with a rip like that in it. I had at least ten others, anyway. I put my boots in the hall closet. I returned to the living room to find no one there.

"Hey, Chick." I turned to the right to see Collin standing in the archway to the kitchen. He swayed in a child-like manner, holding either side of the arch to keep from falling. "Want a sundae?" He smiled sweetly.

"Sure." I smiled a bit, following him into the kitchen. He had everything already set up on the counter: a tub of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, M&Ms, peanut butter cups, chocolate chips, sprinkles, cherries, and whipped cream. He busied himself getting bowls and spoons and removing a jar of hot fudge from the microwave. The spread surprised me.

"Are you one of those ice cream fanatics?" I asked jokingly. He turned to me from the counter with his spoon in his mouth. He gave me a questioning look and pointed to himself. I glared, and he laughed, removing the spoon from his mouth.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Collin responded. "Help yourself. I've given up making sundaes for girls; they don't use enough whipped cream." He smiled, scooping up a mound of ice cream. I laughed and took the other bowl, doing the same, only with a smaller scoop.

We worked our way down the line. He poured mountains of fudge on his along with every topping on the counter. I only took fudge and chocolate chips (A/N: sorry, I'm hungry…). Then came the whipped cream. He shook the can and sprayed a ridiculous amount on top. It wouldn't have surprised me if it was double the amount of everything else. I laughed again. He looked up at me, shaking the can. He wordlessly asked me if I wanted any, and I nodded. He put one spritz on and looked up.

His expression said it all. _I'm smiling stupidly and acting immature just to hear you laugh again. _And I'm sure that was his goal.

He laughed, spraying almost as much on mine as he did his own. I thanked him, and before I could say my mantra, everything was put away.

"So did I do okay?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" I returned, puzzled.

"Too much?"

"No. I'm a whipped cream freak myself." The young man before me beamed. "But you better watch it, or you'll gain weight." I poked his stomach. He rolled his eyes. "And then Robin'll catch you, no sweat."

We sat up for the next four hours or so, despite the fact that I was originally going to go to bed right after my shower. We talked some more. He told me about his acting job downtown and how he had got the job right out of high school (I had a feeling he was an actor!). We rambled for a while, and around one in the morning, another yawn escaped me. Collin took a look at the clock.

"Wow. So much for going to bed early." He said. His eyes met mine and he put on another heart-melting smile of his. I nodded. "Do you want to crash on the bed or the couch?" I hesitated for a moment. He just offered me his bed? That was sweet, but I didn't want to inconvenience the guy any more than I had to. Plus, there was no telling when he last washed the sheets.

"The couch." I answered. He nodded and stood up from the couch. He came back with a gray sheet, comforter, and pillow. He hastily pulled out the futon couch and converted it into a bed. He unfolded the blankets with care and laid them out, setting the pillow near the wall. He stood up.

He smiled again, running his hands through his adorable hair.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to wake me up." I nodded. "Need anything now?" I shook my head, not trusting my voice. His eyes were mesmerizing me. "Night, then."

"Night. Thanks again for letting me stay here." I smiled, climbing into bed.

"Not a problem, Chick." And with a flick of the light, he was gone.

_Dream Sequence_

_A boy with black hair attacked a punching bag with fierce, deliberate kicks and punches of sheer brute strength. His masked eyes were emotionless. If he felt anything at all, you couldn't tell. Not by his eyes, anyway. But his actions said it all. He stopped his workout and placed his hands on his knees, winded. _

_A door opened, suddenly. It creaked as a gray hand slowly pushed it open. It revealed a girl with gray skin and oddly purple hair. I gem known as a chakra sat on her forehead and her beautiful violet eyes sparkled. Her eyes were welling with tears. Threatening tears that promised to soon take a plunge down her face. _

_The boy straightened up, placing a look of disgust over his face. His childish face was replaced by a sharp, angered one. He huffed and picked a water bottle up from the floor. He took a swig from it and wiped his mouth with the back of his green glove. _

_"Robin, please listen to me." The girl sounded weak and defenseless, but the boy wasn't phased._

_"No. You cheated on me Raven. You went with Red X. You chose him. You can't have me, too." He hissed, stalking off with a towel around his shoulders. The purple-haired girl swallowed and let water spill over her cheeks. She was suddenly turned around by a forceful arm._

_Raven found herself face to face with a certain redheaded girl. A mischievous grin adorned her lips. _

_"Did I not say I would laugh, Raven?" The girl taunted, hovering off the ground. The girl laughed coldly, flipping her hair. "At least he has me." The redhead turned and followed Robin, touching his shoulder when she came to him. He turned, smiling. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her…_

I sat bolt upright, mind racing. What the hell was that? Why was I dreaming about Robin and Starfire getting back together? Robin had…Oh. My. God. Robin had dumped me! What was going on? Was it just guilt from me staying with Red X? Hugging him? Now that I thought about it, that poke to the stomach could be taken as flirting, along with all of the smiling and laughing…

_Stop, Raven. _I told myself. _You still have Robin. Wait. Do I? _Robin had yelled at me a lot. Did he want to break up with me? _He definitely will after he finds out you stayed with Red X. _I thought. What was I going to do? _You're screwed over with the Boy Wonder. _I hugged my knees to my chest, holding back sudden tears.

Tears that showed weakness. Tears that came too often anymore. Because of Robin. He didn't need me. _They _didn't need me. I was merely there to Beast Boy. A party pooper as he would say. Cyborg didn't talk to me much anymore. Robin thought I got in the way. And Starfire…Starfire was my best friend next to Robin. And Starfire hated me. She said I didn't belong. And I didn't.

I was a distraction. I could barely do anything in battles. All I did was use force fields and attempt hits with levitating objects. I usually missed. I was no threat. I was merely another target to villains. A distraction.

And I had forgotten that. I'd forgotten that for the past six hours. I had gotten away from the Titans. In this short time, I felt whole again. I found a piece of me that I hadn't known was missing. I found it because of one solitary person. Red X. Collin.

I slipped off the futon and headed towards Collin's room. I pushed the door open quietly, as not to disturb him. I stood there for a moment, and then…

"Rae?" Collin asked groggily. "What happened?"

"They don't need me. They never needed me. I was just a distraction." Though I wasn't speaking in a way that he could understand, he knew what I meant.

"Come here; it's okay." I hesitated climbing in the bed with him, but I did. "He's just upset. He'll get over it." Collin pulled me close.

"I'm so confused." I told him. I cried into his strong chest. I barely noticed he was topless. "What should I do, Collin?" I asked between sobs. I could tell he was thinking by the short silence that came up.

"Do you feel at home with them?" Collin asked. "If you don't, I wouldn't stay there…"

"Of late…I haven't been…I've felt lost."

"Then there's your answer." He said softly.

"But where am I supposed to go? I don't have an Earth education. I could never support myself." I couldn't help but think I sounded similar to Starfire with the phrase "Earth education". There was another pause. This time, I believed it to be rather awkward. Apparently, X did too, because he cleared his throat a bit before answering me.

"Well, you could stay with me until you find a job that you don't need that much of an education for…like a waitress or something."

"I don't want to inconvenience you any more than I already have. And if the others are looking for me and find you…" I trailed off, not wanting to offend him, but he finished the sentence.

"I'll get chewed up and spit out by your boyfriend and then thrown in prison." He rolled his eyes. "What do you care? You're the good guy. You're supposed to want me in jail." Another awkward silence hung in the air after he let out a sigh. I acted on a whim.

"It's not every day a guy tells me I'm gorgeous." I told him, looking up. His eyes were wide with shock. I smiled and laid my head on his chest, cradled in the nook of his neck.

"I thought you said you had a boyfriend." He teased. "And you didn't care what I thought."

"Keyword: had. If and when he finds out I stayed with you, he would break up with me in an instant. I'll just save him the trouble." Collin laughed and rubbed my back.

"Shirt too small?" He questioned.

………………………………...

A/N: So how's the chappie? The whole point of it was to do the whole "vision" scene so I had to stretch it out. Cause in the next "Red X" chappie, his girlfriend- wait. I don't wanna spoil the story for you…

Oh, the "Shirt too small?" thing was because Raven didn't fit in the shirt X had given her. X felt her bare back, so that gave him the hint. Just thought I should clarify that…:-cough-:

Toodles! Plz review if you likie! Thankies!


	14. Which Collin?

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Fourteen_

_Which Collin?_

_ROBIN_

It had been three days and there was still no sign of Red X, Slade, _or_ Raven. I was getting anxious. What had happened to Rae? My girlfriend was in trouble. I just knew it. I figured the first night might have been time to get away and the jammed communicator was just to insure alone time. But when Rae hadn't showed up in her bed the next morning, I got _really_ worried.

I paced around the common room of the tower, thinking. I had to find Raven. I had to stop this vision from happening. I had to stop Rae before she did something _stupid_; find her before she did something she'd regret. The next time I saw Red X, it wasn't going to be pretty. He'd have hell to pay if he got within a mile of Rae.

I cracked my knuckles, thinking. What did I know about Red X? Not much, I knew. But his name was Collin something. I decided to start there. I made my way to the computer and typed in the name. Two hundred fifty names and faces appeared, listed in columns on the screen. _Great. _I thought. What else did I know about Red X? Hair. Eyes. It was from my dream, and I had a hunch I could rely on it. Hair: Black. Eyes: Blue. Only ten names came up under those fields. _Well, it's not the most common combination, thank goodness. _

I looked over the pictures, deciding there were only two guys that could fit that description. One was Collin Angler and the other was Collin Sanders. They both looked young. Maybe seventeen to twenty-four or so. I decided to go for Angler first. I scanned the information carefully.

Age: Twenty-one. I wasn't off by that much. Job: Waiter at Jump City Diner. Place of Residence: 16 Faller Place. That wasn't too far from Chang's old lab… I picked up my communicator, forgetting it was only five in the morning.

"Titans: I got a lead on Red X!" I said.

"Man, can't this wait until daylight?" Cyborg groaned.

"I was just about to resurrect Terra, you ass!" BB yelled into the communicator.

"Friend Robin, why do you wish us to find Red X so suddenly?" Star asked sweetly. She cocked her head to the side and clamped her hands together with curiosity.

"I think Raven went with Red X. If she did, then we'll be killing two birds with one stone." I told them.

"Rae can take care of herself. She's probably pissed at you and went to Azarath or something." BB whined.

"Man! I'll be right there!" Cyborg ripped his charging chord from his hard drive.

"At least someone is playing big brother." I said to Beast Boy. He stuck out his tongue in response. "Star, are you coming with us?"

"Um…Yes, Friend Robin. I will…join you shortly."

In seconds, Cyborg had sprinted into the room. His speed surprised me, especially with his size. He slid to a halt. Beast Boy came after him, deciding to join us. He slid on the tile of the kitchen, but couldn't stop fast enough. He fell with a "Doh!" and crashed into the cabinet with a sharp thud. I cradled my head in one hand, shaking it. Starfire floated in leisurely in another two minutes time. I ignored her lateness and went on to explain to the others what was going on.

"Okay, team." I used the mouse on the computer to point to the two remaining suspects. "Collin Angler." I moved the cursor to the right. "Collin Sanders." I stood up and looked at them. "One of them is Red X. We'll start with-"

"How'd you narrow it down so far, dude?" Beast Boy interrupted.

"I had a vision." I said, watching various levels of shock and confusion work its way through their expressions. "We're starting with Angler. He's a waiter. The other guy's an actor at the theater downtown. I figured Angler would be more inclined to steal because of his low-pay job. He works at the Jump City Diner." I saw the color drain from Cyborg's face. He'd always gone to that diner and the fact that Red X could have been his waiter at one point shook him a bit, to say the least. "We're going to the diner for breakfast. Act natural. I'll do all the talking." The three nodded in consent, but I saw a bit of anger seep into Starfire's eyes. "Titans, go!"

The lead on Angler wasn't worth anything. He was slightly heavier and shorter than Red X. His martial arts weren't anything either. Not that you could impress anyone by twirling a mop and knocking over a waitress with a full tray in her arms. Poor customers. They got syrup and bacon spilled all over them. I don't think Collin Angler is employed anymore, either.

I burst through the front doors to the tower to examine Sander's profile. BB went upstairs to wash syrup out of his hair (he got it spilled on him too while asking the girl at the next table over for her number). Cyborg said something about upgrading so he could "…kick that ass's ass." Starfire hovered behind me all the while. I tried to ignore it, but she eventually rested her hands on my shoulders flirtatiously.

"Friend Robin, Raven is quite capable of helping herself, yes?" Starfire asked, resting her head on my shoulder. I stopped typing and looked straight ahead. This was beyond awkward! I sniffed in nervous habit.

"Her powers weren't working that night. Who knows what's going on." I went back to my work, but this girl wouldn't take a hint.

"Do you wish to do the watching of the DVDs and eating of the unhealthy sugar candies with me tonight?"

"If Rae's home, sure. We can see if Wicked Scary Two is out yet." I replied coolly. I knew what she meant. She meant it to be just the two of us, but there was no way in the world I was breaking up with Rae.

"Friend Robin, why do you like Raven so much?"

"She's compassionate and caring. She can see past your masks and shields. It's like she can read your soul. She understands me, and I understand her. I love her and she loves me." I said without skipping a beat. Maybe me still liking Raven would drive Starfire away. But it didn't. She pushed harder.

"She has seen you in the state of no mask?"

"No. She just sees past the acts I put on in battle and around others."

"So she does the decoding of the actions and body language? She is a good detective, yes?" Star was playing dumb. Even I could tell that.

"You could say that." I went and took a seat on the couch. She followed.

"If you do the loving of one another, why did you have the fight?"

"Couples fight sometimes." I said. Her next question caught me totally off guard.

"So we should still be together, yes?" I hesitated, making the mistake of looking into her beautiful green eyes. I looked away.

"No." And Star lost it.

"Why do you like her and not me?" She asked, standing up. "What is so glorious about Raven?"

"She understands me."

"I understand you, Friend Robin!"

"No you don't."

"What if she never comes back?" Star challenged.

"She _is_ coming back." I raised my voice a little.

"No she is not! She is in love with the Red X!"

"Shut up!" I yelled. "I don't care what you think!"

"She does not belong here!" Star shot back.

"NEITHER DO YOU, BITCH!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. I couldn't stand her anymore. She got under my skin and tore me apart, inside and out. "I heard what you said to her, and as far as I'm concerned, it's your fault she left! She was having doubts about us needing her, and you went and confirmed it. She was your friend! You lost her! Now you'll have to deal with it because now that she's gone, I don't want you either!"

Starfire stared at me wide-eyed. Tears welled up and she pulled her hands close to her face like a small child would. I felt a surge of triumph inside of me for getting back at her. Tears spilled down her cheeks and she shut her eyes tight. With a shake of a disbelieving head, she ran away to her room.

The black doors opened, revealing Cyborg. He had a questioning look on his face. Beast Boy quickly joined him at the side with a hand towel about his neck.

"Did you yell at Star?" BB asked, clearly amazed. "I could hear you all the way from the bathroom…"

"She dissed Raven." I said coldly.

"Had to be pretty serious for you to call her a bitch." Cyborg commented.

"We're going to get Rae home…tonight." I didn't feel like talking to the other guys about my scuffle with Starfire. Especially because (yet again) my anger was cementing into guilt.

………………………………...

A/N: So how'd I do? I had to get someone to yell at Star sooner or later…maybe there should be a catfight…anyway, please review!


	15. A Flight and Interrogation

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Fifteen_

_A Flight and Interrogation_

_RED X_

**A/N: I'm going back in time a little at first…don't get confuddled, peeps : P**

I woke up early on the first day of Raven's stay. I got out of the bed carefully as not to disturb her. She'd fallen asleep quickly in my arms. It was amazing the way she'd talked to me. She acted as if we were old friends. For once in my life since my mother was murdered I felt at home. Though Raven was dark and mysterious, she was strangely comforting.

It was seven o'clock when I'd woken up. I had to be at work at nine. Work. What was I going to do about it? I got up and showered, pondering the thought all the while. _I should go… _I told myself. _But Raven's your guest._ I retorted. _But she might stay for awhile… _I fought my internal battle and finally got out of the steaming shower.

I found Raven up and making the bed when I went back into the bedroom. She'd hung the robe on the bedpost. I had to admit, her stomach was pretty toned. She looked up and smiled but turned away blushing at my state of dress. A towel.

"Sorry." I muttered. I grabbed my clothes from my dresser and retreated back to the bathroom. _Way to go, Sanders. _I said to myself. When I returned to the back room with less revealing garments on, I found Raven floating in a spare spot on the floor, muttering something. I went over to the closet quietly, trying not to disturb her…meditating, was it?. I silently pulled a pair of Kate's jeans from the top shelf. _Shit. Kate's shirts don't fit her._ I put my hand on the back of my damp neck, thinking. I turned to see Raven sitting normally with hands on her elbows, looking up at me.

"Nervous habit?" She inquired, smiling.

"Yeah. Just thinking. This is the only pair of pants my girlfriend left, and she didn't leave another shirt. You could wear something of mine, but I think it would be pretty baggy."

"Jeans are fine. And I'll wear anything that isn't pink. I doubt I'll have a problem." I nodded at her response. I tossed her the jeans and motioned her to come over. She chose a black shirt that read: Teamwork: A lot of people doing what I say. I hadn't worn it in a while; it was all the way at the bottom of the pile.

I busied myself making breakfast for us both. I scrambled eggs and fried potatoes. I cheated and used microwavable sausage. Raven came out of the bathroom with her new outfit. It was unbelievable. The jeans fit Raven just as well as Kate, and she'd tied the shirt at the front and tucked the knot in her pocket so it would look less baggy.

"Want breakfast?"

"Sure."

I sat down two plates at the table along with a stack of toast, butter and salt and pepper.

"What do you want to drink? I've got milk, orange juice, Gatorade, and water."

"Water's fine." She answered. I finally sat down with her. "Thanks." She gave me another winning smile. We started our meal in relative silence. "Do you have work today?"

"Uh, yeah." I swallowed a bite of dry toast. "I figured I'd stay with you the first day and go back in tomorrow."

"No, that's alright. You don't have to do that."

"I want to. I need a break anyway. 'Cause ya know, acting is _so_ stressful…" I said sarcastically. She laughed.

The next two days went by smoothly. She preformed a spell to change her eye color to blue, her hair black, and hide the gem on her forehead. The first day, we went clothes shopping and she teleported the things she'd need from her room at Titans Tower. Rae stayed home and looked after things. She cleaned and packed a lunch for me every morning. She was arranging several job interviews and took taxis if she had one to get to. She still hadn't had any luck.

Everything was going well, but I still hadn't told Kate what was going on. I tried to ignore her at work and not flirt or kiss her. I made up excuses when she asked if I wanted to do something after work. I couldn't find the courage to tell her I didn't want to be with her anymore. And that backfired.

I got home on the third day to find Raven sitting idly on the couch, staring out of the window. She hadn't greeted me with a cheerful hug or a peck on the cheek. She didn't even acknowledge my presence until she pressed a button on the phone beside her.

_To playback messages, press three. _The answering machine said. Raven pressed the button, not bothering to look at me. A familiar voice slid through the speakers of the answering machine. I froze. Kate's.

" _Hi, Collin. It's Katie. Listen, I've been noticing you've been acting strangely lately. You've been avoiding me. You haven't been kissing me or anything. If something's wrong, you can talk to me, okay? I love you, baby. See you tomorrow." _

A click of Kate hanging up the phone filled the room. Raven finally turned to look at me. I saw her violet eyes welling with tears. Tears that hadn't reared their ugly heads in three days. Tears that I'd prevented. And now I had provoked them. A surge of intense guilt slithered uncomfortably up my spine. I mentally slapped myself half a dozen times._ You fucking ass! You should have told them both sooner!_

"I thought the clothes were your ex's. Not your current girlfriend's." Her old bitter voice cut through the silence like salt melted ice. She hadn't sounded like that since the first fight with Slade. I felt hate in her eyes as tears receded. She stood up. "Were you even going to tell either of us?"

"…Raven…I was. I got scared. Kate and I have been together- sort of - for a year now. We never made it official, or anything. I was going to tell both of you, but…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Save it," said Raven, sending a hand across my face. A smacking noise echoed through the room. "for someone who cares." She stalked to the bedroom and picked up a bag that she'd packed. I presumed it to have her clothes, mirror and toiletries. She slung the backpack over her shoulder and came back in. She shoved a wad of something into my chest.

"Here." She left the apartment with a slam of the door and only then did I realize she'd handed me money. A note was enclosed in an envelope with rushed hand writing on the outside: _Red X- Collin- whatever the fuck you wanna be called. _I stood there dumbfounded, rubbing my stinging cheek. I should have tried to go after her. But I didn't. I sat on the couch and opened the letter with such care as defusing a bomb.

_Red X or Collin,_

_I'm not even going to get into the part about how angry I am with you. I'll just say this: I thought you were a caring guy who is honest and trustworthy, not a cocky jack-ass like Red X. I was wrong. Not only did you hurt me, but you'll lose Katie too. _

_The cash is for the clothes and the trouble. Keep the change._

_-Raven_

I felt hot tears well in my eyes. _Don't be a woos. _I told myself. _You don't…_I stopped myself from saying it. I sniffed, looking over the letter again. My hand held my jaw as if I were pondering a puzzle of some sort. _Only babies cry. _I held back tears. I didn't cry; I was a man. I didn't act like a stupid thirteen year old. I sat there, telling myself that for what seemed like hours. And the tears finally spilled over, seeping from closed eyes.

Why was I so upset? Sure, the girl was amazing. She was beautiful. She was intelligent. She was kind and sweet. She was- oh, who was I kidding. I loved the chick. I barely knew her, but I loved her. I felt whole with her. I found a part of me I never knew was missing. I'd felt better than I had in years while she was around, and that was saying something.

I cried quietly for a while, wallowing in my misery. And out of nowhere…

A green streak crashed through the window. Shards of glass flew everywhere, and the mystery streak rolled into a standing position. It was Robin. A green boy morphed into his usual form instead of an insect of some sort. A blue beam came through the front door and the three males of the Titans stood before me. Robin grabbed me by the collar roughly. I made no attempt to break free. I only stared at him with my pathetic watery eyes. My weakness.

"Where is she, X?" Robin exclaimed, shaking me. I had a feeling he didn't notice I was crying like some immature toddler.

"Gone. Dumped me, too." I said. Robin released me and the couch caught me.

"She never dumped me." Robin said bitterly.

"Cut the shit and get the cuffs on the bastard!" the metal man yelled. Robin did as he said and threw me back on the couch. The robot-man stood in front of me with a look of pure hatred. If looks could kill, my ghost's ghost would be dead.

"She was here?" He inquired. Boy, this guy didn't waste any time, did he?

"Yes."

"How long?"

"Since the fight." I replied.

"Why did you kidnap her?" Cyborg inquired.

"I didn't."

"Liar."

"She hugged me. She asked if she could stay with me for a day or two. I said yes." I told him matter of factly.

"She would never hug a bastard like you!" The Traffic Light spat from his place near the corner of the room. The green kid glared at me from the other with crossed arms. That's when I realized they were short a member (other than Rae). Where was Ditz?

"I wasn't aware the word "never" had a new definition, Birdie Boy." I retorted through clenched teeth. This kid's ego was way too big.

"Screw this." Cyborg said. And with that, he struck me over the head with a powerful arm. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a place I never thought I'd see the inside of. I was in a prison cell.

"FUCK!"

………………………………...

A/N: So how'd I do? Sorry the story's gettin' sorta boring, but I'm trying to make the pieces fit. That's why of late I've had these mainly fluff chappies…Anyway, thankies for reading.

**-screams: YOU LIKIE? REVIEW, OR I WON'T WRITE! **

**:clears throat: **

**-sweetly: Please?**


	16. Stranger on the Street

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. If I did, the show would **not **be safe for seven-year-olds. **

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Sixteen_

_A Stranger on the Street_

_RAVEN_

I had stormed out of Red X's place before he could say a word. I was walking down the street quickly. Anger pulsed through my veins. But the anger wasn't towards Collin so much as it was to me. Myself. How stupid was I? I mean, he was a villain. He could have been like Malchior and just wanted my trust and then try to kill me. He could have murdered me in those three days and no one would have known. No one had known where I was. Why did I trust him? I should have known he was lying to me. I should have known a guy like him would be taken. I should have known…

My pace slowed as anger cooled. By this time, I'd walked down at least three blocks. I pulled the strap of my bag higher on my shoulder and kept walking, avoiding people that weren't paying attention. I sidestepped several people who were reading or talking on their cell phones. I spotted a café at the end of the street and ducked inside. I had some serious thinking to do.

I ordered a cup of tea and sat quietly at my booth, stirring in honey. I sighed and brought the cup to my mouth slowly. I looked out the window to see people rushing about and people leaning out of their cars, yelling rude things to other drivers. People ignored others on the sidewalk and went on their way, still in work clothes, some carrying briefcases or tote bags.

I sat quietly, thinking about anything and everything. I thought about Malchior and how he'd made me feel special and loved. How he'd embrace me. How he'd call me "Sweet Raven". How he'd talk to me. How he comforted me. How he made jokes at all the right times. And how he tricked me. Almost a year and a half later came Robin. He was a better…boyfriend…Although I was only dating him for a week or so, I could definitely tell. Robin wasn't out to trick me or use me. He loved me, and I loved him. And last came Red X. He, Collin, had been the boy I loved, but Red X had went to his head. I guess the super villain thing made him want to juggle girls. I don't know.

As I sat there and dwelled on every last detail of my relationships, I felt worse and worse. I felt completely and utterly dim. I'd made the mistake of being with a villain once, but twice? And Robin. What would he think when he found me? How much would he hate me? And was my leaving a mistake? Should I have tried to work things out with the Boy Wonder? A knot tied itself in my stomach and I blinked automatically, believing the tears were coming.

"Honey?" I looked up to see the waitress looking down at me. She was rather heavy with curly blonde hair. She wiped her hands on her apron. "We're closin' up in a few minutes." Her southern accent was unmistakable.

"Oh. Sorry." I glanced and noticed it had gotten much darker and I was the only customer left in the place. I turned to my bag and left a dollar on the table for a tip and scooped up my belongings. The woman sat down and looked at me.

"What's wrong?"

"Excuse me?" I asked, surprised.

"Don't try to fool me, honey. I got three girls all 'bout your age an' I can tell when somethin's wrong." The woman had a knowing smile plastered to her pudgy, slightly wrinkled face. "'Mon. Spill it." I hesitated and put my bag down.

"Boys." I replied simply. The waitress laughed.

"Need a manual, don' they?"

"Yeah." I gave a small smirk, fiddling with my hands.

"What happened?"

"Well, I was going with this guy a year or two ago." The lady nodded, sincerely interested. "And he was using me, so we broke up."

"Ain't over him yet?" she questioned.

"I don't know. Just thinking of how badly my relationships end."

"Honey, they're always gon' be messy!" She exclaimed, waving me off. "Don' worry 'bout it. What happened wit' the others?"

"This other guy I was dating was always blaming me for things I didn't do. He yelled at me and I tried to explain myself, but he wouldn't listen. We broke up last week." I went on. This talk was really helping me, even if I was talking to a complete stranger.

"Oh, I had me one o' those before. Nasty little buggers. Gotta give it to 'em straight forward. Ain't gotta 'splain yourself neither."

"And I just broke up with another guy today." I added.

"What he do?"

"Cheated on me." I said, looking away.

The woman and I went on talking for a good five or ten minutes before I suggested I leave so she could close up. She nodded and waved good-bye as I walked down the street.

"Come again if you need me to knock some sense into 'em! Just ask for Leslie!" Leslie called. I waved and continued on down the street.

Few people were on the streets. I walked absentmindedly, not paying attention to the world around me. Suddenly, I bumped shoulders with a passing person. I turned to apologize, and so did he. I looked up to see two white-masked eyes looking down at me.

"Sor-" His eyes widened. I nervously adjusted the strap on my bag. It was Robin. "Rae?" Wow, even with a disguise he recognized me. I sighed and dropped my bag. I muttered a spell to return me to my normal appearance. "Raven!" He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead.

"Robin, let go."

"What?"

"You don't know where I've been. You won't want to be with me anymore." I told him.

"You've been with Red X, but that doesn't mean I don't want to be with you." My eyes widened with his words. He'd known. I pulled back and brushed hair from my eyes. He smiled. "He's in jail."

"Really? How'd you find him?" I asked. He took my hand and picked up my bag, leading me back down the street.

"My vision." I stopped dead and my heart skipped a beat. I'd forgotten all about that dream of his! He knew I'd cheated on him and he still wanted to be with me!

"Robin, I'm-"

"It's okay." He swung our hands, smiling. "Everyone deserves a second chance." And he kissed me.

………………………………...

A/N: I know. Really short chappie, but 'tis late (for me), so I'll write more next time.


	17. Time Passes

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Seventeen_

_Time Passes_

_ROBIN_

I woke up early and got a jump start on training. I found Rae already waiting for me. She smiled warmly to me, eyes sparkling and swimming with new emotion. Over the past two years, Rae had jumped to all new levels with controlling her emotions and powers. Eventually, she didn't need to meditate any longer, though she did so just to remember on some occasions. She stood up, belt jangling. It was her same old belt, just longer. Her cloak was long gone.

"Morning, Nightwing." She greeted. I smiled and made my way over to her to kiss her warmly (A/N: for all you smart people out there, this is two years later and Robin made the jump from Robin to Nightwing… sorry, keep reading…)

"Enough of the mushy stuff." I teased backing up. "Ready…" I sunk into a battle ready stance. "Set…" Rae did the same, reflecting my images. "Go!" I lunged toward her and she stepped to the side. I brought a kick around, aiming for her side. She blocked and went on the offensive with a punch. I leaped back into a back hand spring and blocked a kick. We went on following a similar pattern for the next half hour or so. She finally gave in, winded.

I smirked as if to gloat and she splashed me with water from her bottle. "Thanks. Now I don't have to take a shower."

"Gross." She took a swig from her water bottle and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Rae and I had been doing these secret sparring sessions every morning for almost a year. After she'd gone with Red X, she'd explained why her powers weren't working during that fight with Slade. Her answer? You guessed it. Emotions (again). Being around X made her slightly nervous, she was upset Beast Boy (now Changeling) had gotten injured, and Star had been bothering her again. She'd even confessed Slade had confused her with his talk. Afterward, I suggested I help her with her hand-to-hand combat just in case such a situation arose on another occasion.

She'd advanced quickly and I soon had a training buddy that was much more evenly matched against me.

The two of us were still dating. It seemed our bond grew tighter every day from the point of a normal relationship and the one through her powers.

The team went on fighting villains as usual. We'd put countless robbers in jail along with several more serious criminals. You're probably wondering what happened to Slade and Red X aren't you? Well, wee Collin is still locked up tight and Slade…well, we still haven't caught Slade. He hasn't struck since that one fight. I've researched and researched, but I can't find anything that could possibly lead us to him. We questioned Collin about it, but he'd said he'd been lying about knowing his location. I'd long since given up. Any trail that had been left would be long gone by now.

We asked Terra what she could tell us about him, but it wasn't anything we didn't already know. Oh, while we're on that subject, Terra's back. Once Rae gained control, she had enough power to bring her back. Terra was still fifteen, but Rae also happens to be able to stop and start time. After much practice and several terrifying near-death experiences, Terra was aged to be nineteen like she was supposed to.

"Hello. Earth to Boy Blunder?" Rae waved her hand in front of my face. Despite my costume and name change, Rae still called me that. There was no stopping her; there weren't that many ways to toy with the name "Nightwing".

"Oh. Sorry. What did you say?" I inquired turning my gaze back to the curvy nineteen year old before me.

"We're still going to the movies tonight, right?"

"Unless you cancel or a villain threatens the city." I said, throwing a flirtatious smile onto my face for the hundredth time that day. I grasped her hand and made my way out of the gym and down the hall to Rae's room. "So I'll see you later, babe. I really need a shower." I told her, kissing her softly. I pulled back to leave, but she pulled me down to deepen the kiss. In seconds, we started a full-on make out session. Towels fluttered to the floor and water bottles plopped. I pushed her against the wall and teased her lips with my tongue. She opened her mouth and let my tongue slide in. My hand wandered to her hip and made its way around the back…

"Dudes, get a room." We broke apart in an instant and turned to see Changeling, the former Beast Boy, standing there with crossed arms. He smirked. Rae brushed some hair from her face and knelt down to pick up dropped items. With a quick peck on my cheek, she disappeared into her sanctuary. Changeling tsked and shook his head. He had a knack for coming at the worst times. "Don't you two forget to use protection, now." I punched the guy in the stomach before walking off. Rae still wasn't ready for that…

………………………………...

"Two for Wicked Scary III." I said to the clerk.

"Fifteen dollars." He responded in a nasally voice. I slipped a twenty under the window. "Five is your change. Have a nice day." I took the change and money, walking with Rae off towards the snack bar.

"Sure seems happy, doesn't he?" I joked. My date smiled. She adjusted her shirt so that it covered the sliver of stomach showing. We'd both decided to dress normally whenever we went out as not to be disturbed. She had a light purple tank and faded jeans on. I'd gone with jeans as well, and a dark blue "muscle shirt" (as girls call them).

We ordered a coke and medium popcorn with butter (A/N: I've had this wicked craving for popcorn…damn, I should pop some…sorry, go on.).

"Butter substitute?" the guy behind the counter asked. He looked strangely familiar with black hair and a black skull shirt.

"Sure." I replied. Butter substitute? Nice.

"Here you go." the guy handed us the bag and we headed for our theater.

"Rae, was that that Goth kid from the party Blackfire took us to?" I inquired. She looked up at me with the straw from the cup still in her mouth, giving her an innocent look about her.

"Yeah, I think so. He told me to call him Goth."

"Lovely."

We watched the movie in near silence. I could tell Rae was scared. She kept flinching and grabbing my hand. And I could tell that by now, if she doesn't say anything during a horror movie, she is deathly afraid. I smiled and pulled her as close as the armrest would allow. Stupid arm rest.

The movie ended and credits rolled. My dark princess and I made our way out of the theater, tossing unneeded trash. We talked about the film while strolling back towards Titans Tower. Then, suddenly, our communicators rang. Immediately, we both flipped them open, revealing Cyborg in the T-car.

"Man, get to the city prison, and fast!"

"We're on it." I said. Rae enveloped us both in dark energy and we were dumped out inside the prison. Our uniforms had replaced our street clothes.

I looked around to see prisoners with orange suits running about. Plasmus, Cinder Block, and Overload were all among them. _Oh yeah. _I thought. _This is just peachy._

Rae and I attacked the monsters first, thinking them the biggest threat. In minutes, Overload and Cinder Block were secured. But until the other criminals were put back in their cells, Plasmus would run rampant. The other four came bursting in with explosions. Rae sealed their hole as not to let anyone or anything escape. Changeling transformed into a tiger and began herding stray criminals back into their cells. Terra and Starfire joined the efforts while Cyborg, Rae and I held off Plasmus.

The monster shot streams of acidic goo towards us. We dodged and Cyborg shot it with his sonic cannon. Rae ripped spare walls apart, trying to make a container to keep him in. I threw freezing disks to give her some time. Both efforts were futile, and the giant zit flailed an arm and sent me and my girlfriend flying backwards. We got up quickly, riding ourselves of as much goop as possible. I saw Cyborg get thrown back.

"Cyborg!" I exclaimed, running towards him. Out of nowhere, a streak of orange flew toward me from the rafters. It set a kick to my side, sending me rolling. I rolled back into a standing position and looked at my attacker, rubbing my side. His eyes were blue and his shoulder length black hair tangled. Bags had formed under his eyes. He smirked triumphantly.

"Miss me, kid?"

………………………………

A/N: So there's the chappie. Thankies for the reviews, I luv you people! Readers who don't review…REVIEW! I luv them…they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside…Oh, and to the peeps who don't wanna read so much, thinking I'll have like, fifty chappies, don't worry. I'm almost done. Three or four more… TOODLES!


	18. A Little Chat

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Eighteen_

_A Little Chat_

_RED X_

Without giving the former traffic light time to respond, I attacked yet again. At first, he easily evaded my attempts. After all, two years in prison without much training has a way of leaving you kinda rusty. Plus, I hadn't been out of my cell since reck at noon. It was now, what, ten at night? Sometimes, I'd pace my cell just to get exercise, making the two other guys in there complain. Damn roommates. At least I could hurt the kid responsible for putting me in here now.

I used a sweep to send him to the floor and drop kicked him in the stomach. He grunted, but rolled over and got up surprisingly quick. He swung a punch at my face, but I grabbed his fist and pushed it back, emitting a loud crack. He grimaced in pain.

"Seem familiar, Birdie Wonder?" I questioned in a hiss. This guy was going to pay for everything he did to me.

"What are you-" I kneed his stomach to shut him up. He doubled over on impact. I released his hand.

"Slade did the same thing, dumb ass." I gripped him by his ridiculously long hair and threw him to the side. "And he could have been locked up- even dead by now if I hadn't been put here by you nimrods." I let out a fury of kicks, punches, chops, and one or to wrestling moves as he stood up. He toppled to the floor again, bracing himself with strong arms. _This is way too easy. _I told myself. I tried a new form to taunt him with. "And you would have been out of the picture. Rae and I would be-" My speech was cut short by the black-haired masked hero pinning me to a nearby wall with unneeded pressure.

"You NEVER had a chance with her!" He roared with knitted eyebrows. I smirked, and he pressed my arms against the concrete with more force. I pulled a fancy and in seconds, I'd pinned him, pretty-boy face pressed against the floor. He grunted.

"I would have. Didn't she tell you she'd made up her mind to leave the Titans? She'd still be living with me right under your watchful eye if it weren't for my stupid little fresh-out-of-high-school friend. How many kids do you think we'd have, Wonder Blunder?" I hissed in his ear, taunting him. I was going to rip him apart, inside and out.

"NONE!" I was knocked from my position by a familiar goddess of mine. She'd jumped from the side and landed a hard kick to my ribcage (A/N: Like my pattern of people flying from the side and always getting kicked in the ribs? Sorry. Wanted to point that out…hurts like hell…). I gripped her waist and rolled us a couple of times so that I ended up on top. She squirmed underneath me, trying to free herself. This was my first taste of romance in two long years, seven hundred thirty agonizing days, seventeen thousand five hundred twenty hours. I loved it, even if it wasn't exactly mutual.

"What? Not ready to be a mommy? I think you'd make a great one." I said. I meant it sincerely.

"GET OFF ME!" She shouted, ignoring my inquiry. Not like I was expecting an answer…I looked over her face. It was just the same, only slightly, ever so slightly, older looking. She still had beautiful skin that glowed like the moon. Her silky purple hair was longer; it had grown to a point between her waist and shoulders. Her pouty lips still looked inviting, and her nose was still perfect. But her eyes. Her eyes were different, better. They danced and shimmered with deep pools of emotion. Simply-

I was yanked from my thoughts when Nightwing pulled me off of my dark witch and threw me across the room. He hurled a disk in my direction which exploded, unleashing a net. It wrapped around me, to my displeasure.

"FUCK!" I swore loudly. Dammit! Why'd that kid need to excel at everything? God, fucking put me back once I kick the ever-loving shit out of Slade! I wriggled in my holds, silently coming up with a lot worse things to call Nightwing that Boy Blunder. Suddenly, his face stooped down to mine. He shook me by the shoulders.

"_Never_ talk to her like that again." He said harshly. I said nothing and watched him turn back to his business with Plasmus and the other prisoners.

I watched them for a moment. Well, not them, exactly. I watched Rae. She was agile, and when away from me, she suddenly remembered her powers. She threw beams and blocked disgusting globs of goo from colliding with her teammates. She seemed perfectly fine now. She had no troubles. No worries. It was hard to believe she was still with the Titans after all that had happened.

And she was still with Nightwing. Still with Robin. Not with me.

I ignored the knot of sadness growing in my stomach and struggled against my restraint, finally freeing myself. I smirked at my rival. He was not paying attention; he was too busy fighting a purple glob of goop to notice me slip out of a window and onto the street. I was free.

Slade would pay.

Nightwing would pay.

Rae would be mine.

But first, I needed something. I headed to Titans Tower. (A/N: Oooh! Snaps for people who know what he's getting at the tower!)

………………………………...

A/N: I know it's short, but I love leaving you guys with cliffies. Don't worry. You'll find out what happens tomorrow.

**REVIEW OR I WON'T WRITE**- oh, what? Sorry. **REVIEW OR I WON'T TYPE!**

Thankies!


	19. Hideout

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. Got any idea how I can?

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Nineteen_

_Hideout_

_RAVEN_

We rounded up the prisoners and Plasmus within two long, painstaking hours. My shoulder was sore from a particularly hard hit from a certain concrete wall. Beautiful how fate works out isn't it? Nightwing lead us over to the place he'd tied Collin up at.

"Uh, dude, he's not there." Changeling said, as if we couldn't already see that. Nightwing put his head in his hand, mentally slapping himself for his stupidity.

"Don't worry, Nightwing. We'll find him." Starfire said reassuringly. By the way, Starfire had learned more modernized ways of speaking. She'd also found out about a handy invention call the contraction.

"He's headed for the tower." he muttered.

"Mumbling again." Terra said, rolling her eyes.

"Rae, get us to the tower!" Nightwing commanded. I instantaneously surrounded the bunch of us in telekinetic energy and we were dumped out in the evidence room. Without a word, the masked hero ran for the vault with the Red X suit inside of it. We hurried after him, not needing to see the inside of the safe to know whether or not it was still there. He grunted.

"Damn it!"

"All ya gotta do is set a match to the guy, man." Cyborg said to his friend from the metal door. Nightwing looked up, smirking.

"I didn't think of that."

"You're not really going to, are you?" I inquired. I mean, Red X was bad, but not bad enough to have a death sentence or deserve to be blown to smithereens.

"No. It's just a really good threat."

………………………………...

_NIGHTWING _(I figured I should switch views more since I'm almost done with the story)

My team took their positions around the warehouse on old pier forty-one. The tracking device I'd implanted on the suit had led us here, to Slade's old hideout. Sanders was no doubt looking for a lead on Slade. I'd staked out in the basement, ready to attack at any moment.

I watched him walk about the room with a slight cocky bounce, as if reminiscing. He inhaled deeply, mumbling something inaudible. He continued his stroll, dragging his finger through inch-thick dust and rubbing his first to digits and thumb together. He walked down an aisle of crates and stopped at one in the corner. He knelt down and observed the dust on the floor and crates. He snickered and began pulling it from the wall. What was he doing? Had he found something? _Wow, Dick. You're really loosing your touch if this lowlife can show you up in detective work. _I thought

………………………………...

_RED X_

The suit was a tad snug, but it fit. After all, I had been nearly nineteen and damn near fully grown when I'd first tried the thing on. It felt good to be back inside. I felt mysterious. Confident. Happy.

The dust gave him away. Both of them. Slade and Nightwing. Yes, I knew Nightwing was there, but then again, I didn't care. If he came along for the ride, I'd have help. I hated to admit it, but I was glad the Boy Blunder had the know-how to find me. How he could find me and not Slade, I had no earthly idea. I mean, the guy had run into the basement to escape. Basement. No exit. C'mon, it was elementary stuff!

I examined the dust. There was a slight change in thickness and it showed evidence of being stirred. I followed the trail to the old crate in the corner and pushed it aside. Behind it, there was a square cut in the wall that led down a tunnel. I crawled through without hesitation, and kept crawling until the ceiling let up and I could stand. I came to a door and opened it, and walked for about twenty minutes. I never looked back to see if my little stalker was following me.

The tunnel was rock and had dimming or broken lights lining the top. _Didn't come out where I'd expected. _I thought. I came to another door; this one was made of steel. I pushes slightly, testing it. I leaned into it, pressing hard and the door creaked open. It was open just enough to slip through. I didn't want let Slade know I was here with something as foolish as a creak of a door.

………………………………...

_RAVEN_

I sat in the rafters of the warehouse on pier forty-one, waiting. I'd glance at my opened communicator every so often, just to make sure no one had come out of the basement. Our leader had cleverly left his communicator open and placed it on the floor so that we could all see if someone was there. One of the many crates kept in the cellar obscured part of the screen which made me think he had also been intelligent enough to conceal it.

I changed my position several times whenever limbs went numb. I'd been sitting there for nearly an hour before I'd seen any activity. It was in the basement.

………………………………...

_NIGHTWING_

I crept down the path as quietly as possible, as not to give myself away to Collin and anyone else down here. I followed a good distance behind the escaped prisoner.

How Collin had outsmarted me was beyond my comprehension. How had he figured out where Slade was in one night while I couldn't in four years? At least, I thought Collin was down here for Slade…

I walked along the rock corridor, thinking one thing: _this looks familiar _(A/N: More snaps! Who can tell me where X-ie and Night-ie are?) I don't know why it didn't hit me before.

………………………………...

_RED X_

I looked around the large cave-looking room. Cracks were visible along the floor. My eyes scanned the cracked walls. And out of nowhere, Slade plummeted toward me with a ferocious kick at the ready.

"HAA!" His war cry echoed through the room as he landed, barely skimming my head, only knocking my mask askew. He turned calmly. His dark eye looked at me with more hatred than ever before. I could tell he was smiling.

"Collin." He greeted cheerfully. Too cheerfully to be Slade. "How are we today?" He joked. I threw a punch which he easily evaded. He grabbed the cape on the suit and flipped me backwards. I stopped when my back hit a hard wall. I grunted and looked up and saw his face right in front of mine. " No answer? I'll assume you want a fight, then." And with that, the bastard drew back a hand.

………………………………...

A/N: sorry for another short chappie, but I've got a **LOT **to do. No worries. I'll make the last chappie really long and fluffy.

**WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS? WANNA KNOW WHAT I'M GONNA SAY FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME? **

**REVIEW!**

**REVIEW!**

**REVIEW!**


	20. Final Fight

A/N: Whooo-hooo! Last chappie! Thankies to my loyal reviewers, and to the readers: thank them this story actually got posted! I only update if I get reviews, so I updated every day (:sniffs: except one). Likie? Review it!

………………………………...

_Two Sides of Law_

_Chapter Twenty_

_Final Fight_

_RAVEN_

An hour later, I saw the strangest thing on my communicator. At first, I thought I was hallucinating. It couldn't be… I rubbed my eyes and took a second look. I was not crazy.

In the basement, stood someone I never dreamed I'd see again. He was blonde and had green eyes. A purple shirt and black pants on. He hadn't changed in the least. Jericho. Slade's son. He walked about the room, testing dust between his gloved fingers. He ran his clean glove over his face in thought.

_Holy. Crap. _I thought. _Holy. Crap. _I repeated. I picked up the communicator and pressed the red button and talked into it without a second thought.

"Jericho." I said. The blonde boy froze, mouth agape. "It's okay." I said. "It's Raven from the Titans. Look behind the crate at the far side of the room." I directed him. He did as told and moved the crate to the side slightly. He picked up Nightwing's communicator with a wide smile on his face. He waved.

"Dude!" I heard Changeling shout. I held the device from my face in fear my eardrums might burst. "Jericho, what are you doing here?"

"Let's get to the basement to talk." I said. "I think we should go after Nightwing and Collin. I have a bad feeling about this." It was true. I knot had been building in my stomach for the past twenty minutes. Something was up.

In moments, we'd all assembled in the cellar of the warehouse. Star (to Changeling's annoyance) gave Jericho a welcoming hug (A/N: Star and Changeling are together).

"We should go and find them. They're taking too long." I told the others. Cyborg and Terra nodded. Changeling gave a puzzled Jericho an amazingly reliable ten second run-over of what was going on. But when Jericho tried to explain why he'd been there, we all got confused. Sign language was not our forte.

"Dude, cut the sign lingo and let's go." Changeling said rudely. Even though none of us spoke (or rather signed) sign language, we all knew what Jericho's rude gesture toward the elf meant. Except Starfire. But she's a ditz.

………………………………

_  
NIGHTWING_

I stood back on the sides of the cave, careful to stay in the shadows. Tingles shot up my spine as I remembered the past events of the cave. It was Terra's. I'd called it Terra's, anyway. Her old resting place still stood in the center of the room, undisturbed, save the time we resurrected her.

Slade flew from a ledge toward Collin, knocking his mask off. It fell to the floor with a clatter. X seemed to take no notice. The black-haired villain threw a punch which Slade easily dodged. X was then flipped so his back hit the wall- hard.

"I'll assume you want a fight, then." Slade's words echoed off the walls easily. Slade drew back his arm and brought it forward to meet Collin's face. Collin rolled to the side and attempted a sweep that soon failed. As moments progressed, the fight became more serious. Slade was much quieter after seeing his adversary wasn't weakened by words nowadays.

Uppercut blocked. Hurricane kick, dodged. Side kick, skimmed. Chop, held. Slade took a Bo staff from his belt and extended it. He advanced on Collin relentlessly. Downward slash, evaded. Upward slash, hit. Hit, hit, hit. Collin fell to the ground sporting a bleeding nose.

"Giving up so soon?" Slade queried. X hopped up, unleashing a fury of emotional agony built up over two long years. Slade, however, was much stronger than Collin had presumed. He was not alone; I was surprised as well. Slade had gotten stronger and much more agile during his disappearance. The one-eyed criminal recovered quickly and wasted no time getting back on the offensive.

The battle raged on for the next forty minutes. I stayed off to the side. I'd only step in once Collin was about to be massacred. And, judging by his stumbling and heaving, that would be soon. And sure enough, the next thing he did was fall.

"Pathetic, Collin." Slade commented. I saw my chance and seized it. I moved around the perimeter of the cave while Slade was preoccupied. "You should really be better than this. Even as a teenager, Robin stood a better chance against me." He let an amused chuckle escape him. "Robin has really lost his grip if he couldn't put you away. Or maybe his Raven has gone to his head."

"I'll agree with you on that one." X commented, wiping dried blood from his face with his cape.

"What do you mean?" Oh. My. Fucking. God. Slade actually asked a question! He finally showed weakness by listening!

"I think your right. He freaks out every time I flirt with her. He thinks just because they've been together for two years-"

"That is shocking. I didn't truly think they were…" Slade stood slightly taller as if confident about something. He looked like a child who'd just been told a tremendous secret. The color drained from Collin's face. I could feel the same thing happening to mine. He'd just told my worst enemy my deepest darkest secret. Well, it was the biggest secret to him and the paparazzi, that is.

"If you lay one hand on her-" Red X started.

"I don't think you're in a good position to be making threats." Slade said, brushing non-existent dust from his shoulders. I continued to creep around the cave walls. The masked madman froze. "Come out, boy. I know you're here." I froze. How did he know?

………………………………...

_RED X_

I sat there like an idiot with a bleeding nose, trying to figure out how Slade had known Nightwing was there. But my question was answered rather quickly. However, it brought several new ones to the surface.

A blonde boy stepped from the shadows.

"Jericho!" I exclaimed in shock. Jericho ignored me and looked at his father.

"Hello, worthless boy." Slade cooed, looking at anything but his son. He knew all too well what Jericho was possible of doing if you looked him in the eye. Jericho had once possessed Slade "by accident" on take your child to work day. Let's just say Slade needed a new job after that. "I hope you don't think you can save your little friend all by yourself." Jericho shook his head, though Slade barely saw. He pointed to me, and then to Slade. I nodded. That was his old way of asking me to translate. I watched his hand motions, relaying them to his father.

_I am not alone._

"He says: I am not alone." Slade turned to me, one eye wide. And with that, Nightwing finally leaped from the shadows and tackled his worst enemy. Slade fell with a groan, struggling to break free.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Rae chanted, emerging from the shadows of her powers. Her boyfriend released Slade in a hurry and Slade got a dark binding on his feet. The Ditz flew overhead, throwing emerald bolts of lasers while the metal man blasted with a blue beam. Mold Monkey ran in and gave a few tiger slashes. I couldn't help but notice that new blonde girl was missing.

I sat there, not moving. And then a hand came into view. I looked up to see Jericho standing there, offering me help up. I took it and he heaved me up.

"Now why can't step-dads be as nice as step-brothers?" I joked. Jericho began signing.

_Because fate sucks. _

"It does." I said laughing. Together, we joined in the fight.

_**HALF AN HOUR LATER…**_

" It seems you still can't defeat me." Slade scoffed, throwing aside a tired Nightwing. "It's too bad Terra is still-" Slade was cut off by a rock colliding with his back. He whipped around. There stood the blonde earth-mover, waving her fingers about with rocks twirling in circles above her palm.

"Miss me?" Terra inquired, throwing a rock with a slash of yellow light. Slade flew backwards.

………………………………...

_RAVEN_

And the fight raged on for another hour or so after Terra's appearance. With her on our side, Slade barely stood a chance.

And after ninety-six minutes and twenty-one seconds, we'd proven it. Slade was knocked out and restrained. He was finally going to jail. Nightwing picked the now de-masked villain up and staggered out of the cave without a word. The other titans followed along with Jericho, forgetting about Red X.

And I did too. For a moment.

I stood there, looking around the cave, remembering all the fights and the visits to Terra. How Terra had snuck around behind our backs and nearly killed us all. How she'd intimidated me. How she worked for Slade. How she killed the man. I smiled slightly. Even after everything she'd done, we still trusted her. I'd brought her back from her stone stage and she was put back in her place as a titan. And now she was my best friend. And Slade was finally getting what he deserved. I sighed.

"What's wrong, Chick?" I jumped when Collin laid a hand on my shoulder. I looked up into his sparkling blue eyes. My heart fluttered for a moment before I forced myself to calm down. _Red X is a villain. You can't trust him. You tried a relationship with him already. And you're with Nightwing. Don't even try it. _I yelled at myself.

"Just…thinking." I told him. I didn't brush his hand off. I didn't invite it. I only stood with crossed arms. I looked away, wishing he would leave and make my life easier. But he was Red X; there was no way in the world I'd get my wish.

"About what?"

"Things."

"Like me?" He asked, laying kisses down my neck. I just stood there, unsure of what to do. I didn't want to make the same mistake again. I brought out an old friend I hadn't used in two long years: a monotone.

"Yeah right." I said flatly. This earned a snicker from Collin. He breathed in my ear, resting his head on my shoulder. He wrapped his arms around my waist affectionately.

"I told her what happened." He told me. As if I'd care if Katie knew… "Right after you left."

"Congratulations." I replied sarcastically.

"What do I win?"

"Nothing."

"Really? Don't you want to give me anything?" His tone made my stomach do flips. He sounded playful. I knew what the bastard had in mind, but there was no way I was doing anything like that with him. I stood in the same position, keeping my arms crossed. He pulled me closer, nibbling at my earlobe. I clenched my teeth slightly, trying to restrain myself from turning to fling my arms around him and smother him with kisses. Even though things hadn't worked before, he was still alluring. I didn't understand it.

"Nope." He chuckled again. His laugh sent tingles up my spine.

"I still love you, Rae." Collin told me. As if it mattered… He moved his hands lower. My heart pounded in my throat. He left his hands on my hipbone, and spun me to face him. He wrapped his arms around me, stroking my back. He kissed my lips softly. I ignored it, but he did it again. And again. And again. My heart fluttered. Why was this happening to me? Why was I feeling this way towards him _again_?

His hands moved down my back. I tensened. He smiled, making my heart melt. While I was distracted, he took a firm grip on my butt. I gasped, and he was instantly attached to my lips. He forced his tongue in my mouth and closed his eyes. He made it more passionate and moved his hands back to my waist.

I was a woman possessed. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. He smiled again and pulled away.

"See ya, Chick. I'll be in touch." He saluted as always.

"Wait!" I said. He froze with his finger an inch away from his (or rather Nightwing's) belt.

"Yeah?" His eyes danced with hope. He thought I wanted to go with him.

"Are you going to be a thief again?" I inquired. The question came from thin air.

"Two sides of law, Chick." And with a press of a button, he was gone.

But he'd be back. I was looking forward to it.

………………………………...

A/N: Clap, clap! Whoooo! End of story! So how was it? Please, if you liked it (which you did if you read this far) please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please **_REVIEW!_**


End file.
